Red vs Blue Season 17
by Monty Mason
Summary: With the fall of the New Order, Carolina departed on her journey for growth. Now on her own in a world foreign to her, she walks through the different days in her life doing her best to enjoy what she has and the chance encounters she comes across. But at the same time under the peaceful veil of reality, there are always threats brewing. - Not an adaption of the official season. -
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Red vs. Blue nor the core characters. However I take ownership of the story as well as any original characters crafted for the purposes of this fanfiction.**

 **Also, as a note for when the official Season 17 releases (granted the series continues for that long). This is NOT meant to be an adaption of the official season 17.**

* * *

 **Prologue**

The vibrating hull shook and rattled. It gave the rush of adventure in every crew member aboard the UNSC battle class ship titled the 'Esetora'. The ship briskly traveled in a warp gate with several of the crew aboard the control deck working hard to input new commands every minute. Following the footsteps of others, a few crew members discussed the various operations taking place, gave orders and coordinated their next steps together.

"Captain on the deck!" firmly stated one of the crew in a loud voice. Everyone not assigned to a critically important task to the ship's healthy operation looked at the opening doors and gave a salute. The good Captain walked towards one of the crew members and motioned for him to give an update report.

"Sir, we are nearing the exit point of the warp gate. We should be at the coordinates you gave to us," the crew member held out a data pad for the Captain to study. The superior officer nodded his head and dismissed his conversationalist. The Captain brushed his small but stubby moustache with the sides of his fingers. He scanned the entire deck with his blue eyes and began to hum a tune that had recently rooted itself deeply into his head.

"Sir, are you sure we should be doing this?" by the Captain's side stood a familiar man. The Captain nodded his head reassuring his long time crew member with a pat on the shoulder. "Life is no fun without any risks."

"I doubt life is any fun in a maximum security prison either."

"Don't worry Corporal Buttmunch, we got this in the bag ja."

"If you say so," he scratched the back of his brown hair and turned to walk away. But he stopped midway upon yet another disturbing comment from his CO. "Hmm, have you been working out lately because I spot a nice ass."

"Sir, my ass opens up for no one."

"Give it time young one," the Captain leaned in close with a lecherous gaze. "You never know what magic we might make _together_."

"That's sexual harassment Captain," said another voice joining the conversation. The Captain looked to his left and saw Corporal Boyscout standing with a data pad in his hands. "You know Boyscout, I am not too picky about my partner."

"I'm just going to pretend you didn't say that."

"You two are no fun," the Captain extended a hand for the data pad. Reviewing the data the CO was impressed at the efficiency the crew worked at. _Looks like I still know how to pick em'_. The Captain tossed back the data pad and looked at his crew. With a nod he thought, _this crew will be the force to realize my vision._ _They will help realize a universe with da fuhrer!_

"Exiting warp gate in three."

Everyone looked towards the operator who began the countdown. In three seconds they were out and were now faced with a giant Halo ring. Everyone aboard the deck cheered for a successful warp and looked towards the ring. One crew raised their hand and asked. "So what are we doing here sir?"

"Oh just making a little visit," the Captain adjusted his cap and brushed his stray black strands of hair back into place. "A Visit to my Blood Gulch Hommies!"

* * *

 **A/N: How is it hanging everyone?**

 **So I come back with another Red vs. Blue fanfiction. This will be a trilogy as well that is essentially a sequel to my trilogy fanfiction of Season 14, 15 and 16. If you have not read those, I highly recommend doing so as I don't spend much time (or any really) explaining what happened before. So certain elements from the past seasons may seem completely strange to those unaware of the events taking place in the previous trilogy.**

 **A heads up, this fanfic will focus a lot more on Carolina than it will on the reds and the blues. I just put the reds and the blues segments to a very minor degree in here to still maintain a sense of "Red vs. Blue". But majority of the chapter content space will go to Carolina. She is essentially the protagonist of this season. We will get to see a little bit into her journey as well as set up the future seasons. I hope you do enjoy this as it was something I had in mind at the end of Season 16 fanfic.**

 **Another thing, in some chapters at the end you may notice some music suggestions in these A/Ns. This is basically saying that hey guys, I listened to this musical piece quite religiously while writing out this particular scene, you should totally play it while imagining the scene as an actual clip from a movie or something.**

 **Am I open to taking requests?**

 **Sure, as long as it doesn't affect the plot in a heavy way. I already have the whole Season 17 fanfic planned out so I won't change it if it is something major. If it is something I see potential in, I will implement it in the future seasons should I find an adequate way of doing so.**

 **Respectful and critical feedback will always be welcomed and appreciated.**

 **Thank you for checking out this prologue chapter and hope you stick around for the future chapters!**

 **Thank you for your time and support!**

 **~ Monty Mason**


	2. Never Forget

**Red vs. Blue Season 17**

 **Chapter 1: Never Forget**

In the scorching canyon titled the "Blood Gulch Canyon", two groups stood opposed to one another. A group of blue soldiers stood atop the blue base with what seemed to be the red flag behind them. Washington looked at the flag and back at the reds. "Alright, you know the drill."

"Do we have to?" Sarge asked with his shoulders slumped. Tucker pointed his rifle towards the flag. "That depends on how badly you want that back."

"How about we try and cut a deal eh?" Sarge again tried his best to tempt the blues. Tucker looked towards Caboose. "Caboose."

"Sheila," the innocent blue soldier called out to one of their robot companions and she stepped out from behind the base with her cannons ready to fire. "No deal buster."

"Aw come on, don't be like that," Sarge motioned towards Tucker and Washington and said. "Come on, you guys seem reasonable, I am sure we can work something else out."

Washington cleared his throat prompting for Sheila to point out her other cannon arm towards them. "You were saying?"

"Come on Sarge, it's not so bad once you say it and get it over with," Donut exclaimed jumping up and down in energy. The other two members of the red team just kept their heads down in embarrassment with one thought running through their minds. _Well, this is probably the lowest form of embarrassment we could experience_. Sarge let out a heavy sigh with his head low. This did not sit well with him either. In fact his cheeks were painted in red. "I would just like to let everyone know that I am not that good."

"That's not what you are supposed to say, but continue!" Tucker interjected annoying Sarge. The seasoned red again cleared his throat. "And that I am a g- g- g-…"

"Is his mouth broken?" Grif asked looking up towards Simmons.

"You know, that thing that is not a man," Sarge finally put together a few set of coherent words. "And I like ribbons in my hair, not that I have much left to begin with thanks to Simmons' bright idea of using that radioactive engine on Chorus."

"What else?" shouted Wash. Sarge looked back from the red to the blues and lowered his head even further in defeat. "And that I want to kiss all the boys. Now give us our flag back you dirty blues!"

Everyone stood stumbled by the words out of Sarge's mouth. _Wow, he actually said it_ , wondered Tucker with the scratch of his head. Grif looked at the others around him in slight disgust and decided to break the silence. "Yeah, I am not going to lie, that was creepy."

"I second that, and keep the creepy old man away from me!" Sister shouted from behind the blues. Simmons held himself back from bursting out into laughter. _Now here is a day I never thought I would see, oh it was worth it to get out of bed today_. Donut twiddled his thumbs and just stepped back behind Grif.

"How about we just give you your flag back and do our best to erase these moments from our minds," Washington suggested throwing down their flag towards them. Grif picked it up and agreed to the terms. The reds walked back to the base in silence with Sarge's head as low as ever. Sister looked at her comrades. "So, is this what you guys do all day long for fun?"

"Well things used to be a lot more hectic around here with Church but ever since we got mixed up in the whole Freelancer thing, things became kind of dry around here I guess," Tucker explained already beginning his next master plan to steal the flag tomorrow. Washington watched the reds disappear over the land line and let out a tired sigh. "To be honest, this is getting really boring now. This was what, the fifth time we got the flag? We really need something else to do."

"Says you, cop!" Sister exclaimed running back into the base. Washington let out yet another sigh. _What am I going to do about her?_ Caboose jumped aboard Sheila and praised her for a job well done. Now they decided to go for a walk all around canyon together with Freckles. Tucker nodded his head towards Wash who gave him a curious look. "You know Wash. It's nice to see you back in the blue and yellow colors.

"After all the craziness, I figured it would be nice to change some things back."

"Either way, it's good to have the old look back Wash," Tucker walked away to carry out his day's duties that the whole base had agreed upon per individual. Washington crossed his arms and looked out towards the canyon with a deep breath. _It's hard to believe that it has been three weeks already since the whole New Order debacle. I hope the people of the Planet-CV588 are doing well. I hope Carolina is doing well_.

* * *

"Attention Blood Gulch inhabitants," a purple armored simulation trooper's voice echoed through the canyon. Washington looked to his left atop the pathways on the side of the canyon only to then hear O'Malley. "And peasants alike."

"O'Malley, get off the radio!"

"I do what I want!" shouted the alter personality. Grif came out of the base clearly disgruntled at the loud argument. "What do you want Doc?!"

"I just wanted to let you guys know, that the grave is ready for the daily visits."

 _Right, the daily visits_. Washington unfolded his arms and jumped down from the base's rooftop. The whole gang gathered together to trek a few miles before encountering their objective. Tucker led the heard and with his head down, he created a moment of silence for the memories of the fallen. Simmons balled his hands into fists at the surfacing memories of all those who died because of them in their fight against the New Order. He felt his legs shake with grief and anger at the same time.

Tucker turned around to walk away leaving the group to disperse. Simmons was the last to go with a heavy mind and a heavy heart. _It always ends like this, maybe I should stop going until sometime has passed_. He entered the red base and went straight for his room. He lay down on his bunk and closed shut his eyes. _I should at least remove my helmet_ , he pondered before feeling a heavy sensation take over his mind. _But I just feel too damn lazy_.

* * *

Simmons slowly picked himself up and sat at the very edge of his bed. He took out the keepsake cell phone given to him by Edwards and flipped it open. He scooted back towards the wall and leaned quietly against it. The whole room felt quiet in his ears and the only sounds that echoed were that of the phone and a distant laughter. The voice was familiar, a young boy's voice. But wait. There was another in there, an old lady's voice. Simmons closed shut his eyes only to see their faces blink for a moment. He suddenly sat up in surprise only to hit his head hard up against the top bunk. _Ow…son of a_ , he slumped back into an arch forward with his head in his left palm.

He flipped the phone close, and open again. _His first ever invention huh_ , Simmons closed the phone again and remembered the ecstatic smile Edwards had on his face as he gave the phone as a gift to him. Simmons opened the phone and rested its screen against his visor. _Too many people died because of us. I thought I was at peace with it already, but the dead always find a way of haunting us. Whether it is in our sleep or in our waking hours, they always come back_. Simmons knew that the others in the canyon felt just as much responsibility for the deaths of many. It was a burden that weighed heavily on everyone even if they chose not to show it.

Simmons flipped the phone close and stared at the cover. _I never took much notice of this, but he did have good taste in decoration. Maybe Donut could learn a thing or two_. Simmons studied the various design stickers and further lowered his head. _Everytime I think of you Edwards, or Elsie or anyone else who died, I begin to feel this breathing fury in my chest. Even though I promised myself to never again give way to this rage, but I can never bear the thought of giving up to the anger like that. I know it would make Edwards' and Elsie's memory very sad_.

Simmons woke out of his deep thoughts to the knocks that echoed in his room. He looked towards the door to find the pink soldier standing with a hand resting on his hip as he scanned the room curiously. "What do you need Donut?"

"Um, you haven't seen my gardening tools have you Simmons?"

Simmons stuffed away the cellphone in his pocket, an action Donut did not miss. Simmons shook his head and walked to his desk. "No I haven't."

Donut crossed his arms as he scanned the maroon soldier. Simmons looked back to the uncomfortable gaze of Donut. "What? Is there something else that you need?"

"No," Donut entered the room much to Simmons' annoyance. "But you seem down. Actually you seem like that everytime we visit the grave. Want to talk about it?"

"There is nothing to talk about," Simmons rebutted as he took out a documentation tablet and powered it up. He looked back to find Donut still standing there. "I know you are just concerned Donut, but I got this."

"Okay," the pink one replied with his shoulders slumped and saddened that he could not do more for his friend. "But maybe think about taking on a project in your spare time. It might help you get your mind off of things you know. Maybe something like Basebook again."

Donut turned around to finally leave, with that Simmons let out a calm breath. _Basebook…it would make communication between bases easier. Maybe I should take on a spare time project_. Simmons documented his thoughts inside the tablet, saved it and powered it back down. He breathed in deep and stretched his arms. "Okay, enough moping Simmons, time to get back to work."

* * *

"One! Two! One! Two!" Washington shouted as he walked back and forth in a straight line from one end of his trainees to another. The group was composed of Grif, Tucker and Caboose. Washington took it upon himself to train the sword wielders to become better close combat fighters. So now they executed certain training rituals daily to better grasp the art of sword fighting. However as he had expected, the training never did go smoothly. Washington came to the end which Caboose was on and found himself growing agitated. _Great, he is gone again_. "Keep training you two, I will be right back."

"Where do you think he went off to?" Grif questioned as he loosened up his arm and stored his sword. Tucker pointed towards blue base. "The same place he always goes to."

"It would be killer if we were just able to cut training like that. I mean how does he even disappear so easily when we are all together?"

"Beats me," Tucker shrugged his shoulders. "He is like a ninja, even if he seems nothing more than a man-child."

* * *

"Check this out Sheila!" Caboose exclaimed swinging the sword to his right and striking a pose. "Aren't I so cool?"

"Yes you are Private Caboose."

"So um will you like you know…possibly go out with me?"

"Request denied."

Caboose suddenly felt a dark cloud loom over his head. His shoulders slumped and chin dropped at the rejection and like a child he began to twiddle his thumbs. "Pretty please?"

"That's the fifth rejection this week, is it not Private?"

"Yeah," Caboose replied in a dejected tone. He then curiously looked up at the new voice behind him. Washington stood with his arms crossed and a finger tapping on the other arm. "Hello Private Caboose, enjoying your little chat?"

"Oh, Wash…um how is it going?"

"Okay I guess, it will be even better if you get back to the training."

"Training, oh um yeah about that…"

"Caboose, you know that sword is not a toy. It holds great value and if people were to come after it, they will come after you. I just don't want you to falter and make a very costly mistake when that time comes."

Caboose then pointed towards the orange and aqua soldier and shouted. "Then how come Grif and Tucker don't have to train?"

Washington let out a tired sigh. He was exhausted from these antics but soon found truth in Caboose's words. "Caboose, come with me!"

Washington quickly ran for the other two trainees and stopped them in their tracks. "Where do you two think you are going?"

"Training time is over dude, I need to catch some Zs."

"Yeah, and I gotta go take my alone time now."

"Your alone time?" Washington looked from soldier to soldier confused at the term. "This is the first time I am hearing of this, what do you do in alone time?"

"Something super _important_ ," Tucker briefly replied before Caboose jumped in and said. "He does it behind his rock, so don't disturb him in his alone time. It is one of the rules of the canyon, you don't disturb people in their alone time."

"Okay, but what is this super important thing that requires you to skip training?"

"Wash," Tucker began with a somewhat quiet tone. "What happens in alone time, stays in alone time. You don't ask a man about what he does in alone time."

"Well, see ya losers. I am off to catch up on my nap time," Grif waved back as he walked towards the red base. Caboose looked towards the orange soldier and proclaimed. "Nap time! The second best time after alone time!"

Tucker took this opportunity to run away behind his rock and put up the sign, 'Do not disturb'. Washington lowered his head and said. "Good to see things being their old selves again."

* * *

 **A/N: There it is, the very first chapter to the beginning of this new trilogy (prologues don't count as chapters :) ). What did you think about the beginning here?**

 **Feedback is always appreciated. Remember, you don't have to be a registered user of the site to leave reviews. So if you have some feedback, go ahead and throw it in the review box :D.**

 **Hope you enjoyed it and are looking forward to more.**

 **~ Monty**


	3. An Old Face

**Chapter 2: An Old Face**

Sarge woke up earlier than usual today. He haunted the halls determined to keep their flag safe so they will no longer have to submit themselves to the embarrassment that is kisses and ribbons. He came up atop the rooftop to the brisk feeling of the cool morning air. Yet in that cool air, there were already hints of yet another hot day ahead of them. Sarge looked down from the blue base towards their Warthog. Another early bird was busy with diligent efforts on the machine.

"Lopez," Sarge called out. "How good it is to see you in the morning."

"[Great, now my day will be bad.]"

"Yes, it is a wonderful morning isn't it?"

Lopez was beyond the point of annoyance and simply continued to work on the vehicle. Sarge walked back down from the roof and out to the jeep. "It is good to see that at least one member of red team is so dedicated in the morning."

"[Please go away before I rig your shotgun to backfire the next time you use it.]"

"Yes, it is a beautiful sunrise," Sarge noted looking towards the rising sun. "What an astounding sight."

* * *

Lopez suddenly detected a new signature on their radar and stood up to observe the blue soldier. Tucker was out and about on his morning jog. Sarge raised his shotgun at the aqua soldier. "What are you doing here blue?"

"Oh nothing," Tucker answered trying to seem as innocent as possible. Lopez stood in between the two pleading for the aqua soldier to take Sarge away. "[Please take the crazy old man far, far away from me.]"

"Lopez," Tucker stopped moving his legs from all the built up energy he had inside. "I don't speak Spanish man, in fact most of us don't. So stop talking to me like I would understand, or switch to English or something."

Lopez just lowered his head and walked away. "[I guess the time to plan the next robot rebellion grows near.]"

"Why are you really here?" Sarge brandished his weapon even closer to an already uncomfortable Tucker. The aqua soldier held up his hands in surrender. "I already told you Sarge, I usually go around the canyon for a morning jog. Actually Wash makes us all do it."

"Why isn't Caboose or that hussy with you?"

"Oh well um…," Tucker rubbed the back of his helmet and looked to his left. He suddenly pointed to a mountain. "Hey is that someone writing in paint that red team sucks?!"

"What?! Where?!"

Tucker immediately broke free from Sarge's line of sight and ran into red base. "Psyche!"

"Oh darn it! Fell for the old distraction trick," Sarge ran into the base behind Tucker who was running up to the roof of the base. He ran through the teleporter and Sarge followed. They came out in the middle of the canyon. Tucker sped up towards the blue base as Sarge gave chase. Sigma appeared besides Tucker and noticed the situation. "It seems that the plan was somewhat of a success. Still not the level of efficiency I calculated to be optimal. Also, black doesn't look that bad on you Captain Tucker."

"Sometimes you have to improvise."

Caboose poked his head out from above blue base and pointed his rifle at Sarge. "Fear me for I am the overlord of blue base!"

"Caboose, keep down the racket!" Wash's voice echoed from inside the base in agitation as he stirred awake. Washington rubbed the back of his neck and put on his helmet. _What is going on out there?_ He exited the room with his rifle stored behind and the morning grogginess taking over. He suddenly came to a stop at Tucker's quick warning. "Woah, hey watch out!"

Washington stood both surprised and impressed. "Well, gotta hand it to you Tucker. I didn't think you would go through with your plan to steal their flag today."

"He hasn't stolen it yet," Sarge took out his shotgun and did his best to catch his breath. "I'm still here."

Washington shook his head. "Don't worry. We won't be keeping it today."

"We won't?" Both Tucker and Caboose asked in unison. Washington looked from his teammates back and forth. "No we won't. Today we will be spending the whole day planning out a schedule for future inventory and base management. I have noticed from our recent reports that efficiency is declining."

"That's boring," Tucker complained as Caboose agreed. "Can't we just keep on stealing their flag and keep on doing what we have been doing?"

Wash crossed his arms, a hint to Tucker that Washington was in his serious mode. Tucker turned around and dropped the flag at Sarge's feet. "Fine, take it."

"Ah ha! I win!" Sarge shouted as he ran back with the flag in his hands. "Mine! Mine! Mine!"

* * *

By the time the red leader had gotten back to base, he was completely out of breath. As he placed the flag back on the flag holder, he took a moment to rest. Theta appeared around Sarge's head sliding on his skateboard. "That was fun Sarge, we should do that every morning!"

"We should not," the older man noted as he stretched his neck. The muscle cracked and left a satisfying feeling of relief. Everyone in red base stirred awake at the intrusive new sound thundering through the skies. They all ran out with the blues already staring up at the sky in curiosity.

"Can't a man get his sleep in this canyon?" Grif asked agitated as he rubbed the back of his helmet and his stomach together. He let out a fairly loud yawn but stopped midway upon seeing a UNSC pelican descend towards them. _Great, what now?_ Wash pondered as he looked towards the blues and told them to be ready. Sarge ordered his team to run back and get their weapons ready.

It was only a matter of minutes before the ship landed and the bay doors opened. The Blood Gulch Crew kept their weapons pointed towards the Pelican with great many questions running through their minds. But the one that bugged them the most was, _who could it be that would come out here to this middle of nowhere canyon?_

"Hello my Blood Gulch hommies! Guten Tag!"

They all nearly dropped their rifles at the voice. _Oh no_ , was all that ran through their minds, _the crazy is here_. Muffins stepped out of the ship and stretched his limbs. "So good to be out of that stuffy old Pelican ja. Plus I think someone farted on the way here, it was the very bad kind of gas in case you are curious."

Grif pointed at Muffins. He looked at the German Captain and then back to his team. He tried to say something, but he was speechless. Muffins was overjoyed to see this. "I didn't know you missed me that much!"

Everyone felt their mouth drop wide open. _How, why, what, huh?_ They all needed a minute to sit down. Washington raised a rather twitchy finger at Muffins and asked. "How is it that you are still a walking free man considering everything you did before? How could the UNSC just let you off the hook for willingly destroying their very expensive and valuable property?"

Muffins leaned in close to the Agent and whispered. "I have connections, very important connections at that. I am loaded baby!"

Muffins looked towards the red and let out a loud laughter. "Also, that was quite an entertaining scene yesterday Sarge."

"What?" Sarge was confused as he saw the German Captain continuously laugh heartily. "You mean you were here all this time?"

"Ja, just got here yesterday."

"Why didn't you come down here yesterday then?! It sure would have saved me some embarrassment!"

"It was just too funny to ruin the moment," Muffins replied with a snicker. Caboose came forward with an innocent look about him and asked. "So, what are you doing here man that is named like a delicious treat?"

"I came to inform you all that I have begun my journey to conquer the galaxy."

"Conquer it as in?" Donut looked all around wondering what would come out next from Muffins' mouth. They could never tell what he would do next. Muffins held up a finger in determination and confidence. "I shall conquer it as its fuhrer of course!"

Muffins then walked back and forth from the reds to the blues. "To that effect, I have come here with the recruitment train, choo-choo! Yay!"

"Not interested," Grif replied turning around to walk back to bed. Tucker agreed. "Yeah man, it just seems like too much trouble."

The rest agreed one by one before Washington stood before Muffins. "Anything else?"

"Are you sure you all don't want to come with me? We got biscuits and tea up above."

"The answer is still no," Sarge answered as he turned around to walk away. Just as Caboose was being dragged away, he suddenly stopped at the new offer Muffins proposed. "If you all come with me, there will be cake to be had."

"Don't listen to him, the cake is a lie!" Sister shouted from behind the group. _For once we actually agree on something raging insane girl_ , Wash pondered as he shook his head at the offer. Muffins hardened his gaze towards the Agent and pointed up at the sky. "That is a shame ja. I really wanted to cruise and conquer the galaxy with my hommies. But now I can't afford to leave empty handed without some sort of victory."

"What are you talk-…," Wash's mouth dropped wide open at the gargantuan shadow encasing the canyon in darkness. The whole canyon crew stopped mid-track to look up in awe and worry. Muffins wore a wide smile and said. "Time to begin the games ja!"

* * *

 **A/N: So comes another old face into the picture frame :). How do you all like it so far?**

 **I thought to start this story off with something more like Blood Gulch material with chapter 1 and a bit of chapter 2.**

 **Feed back is always appreciated! :D**

 **Thank you for taking the time to read, I always appreciate your readership. Thank you to those who took the time to comment/review.**

 **Catch you all in the next chapter!**

 **~ Monty**


	4. Blood Gulch Invasion

**Chapter 3: Blood Gulch Invasion**

"Um," Grif pointed with a shaky finger up above at the sky. His voice cracked with cowardice and yet he stood frozen in one spot from fear. "Muffins, what are you doing with that?"

The huge shadow that covered the whole canyon belonged to a roaring sound in the skies. The UNSC battleship Esetora descended and with it came several Pelicans. Grif looked all around at the frozen bodies. "Sarge, what's the plan?"

"Men, we have the perfect scenario of having the odds stacked against us," Sarge answered with Simmons fully agreeing. "Now I know this may seem like a lot but I am sure that if we commission Lopez to build us a Grif cannon, we can get through this."

"I don't see how that would help our situation," argued Wash with a voice of support from Grif. Sarge shook his shoulders. "I thought it would be fun."

"Great, do we have any serious suggestions?" Grif pondered resting his visor against his palm. Muffins let out another laugh, this time though it was quite sinister. "Do not waste your time with this hommies. Instead enjoy the few moments you have left."

The Pelicans landed one by one and opened their bay doors. Several soldiers exited bearing arms and chanting a few words to paint Muffins in an empowering position. The invaders surrounded the Blood Gulch Crew and aimed their weapons at them. Muffins stepped to the front line. "Just surrender and make this easier on yourselves."

"I don't understand why you would do this," Simmons asked taking a step back. _He is crazy, but being this crazy is taking it to a whole new level_. Muffins was not blind to the reality around him as deranged as he may seem sometimes. "I can't afford to leave one of the biggest threats to my mission free to do as they please now can I?"

"Biggest threats? Dude, we are terrible at being soldiers," Tucker argued. Muffins laughed once again wondering if Tucker was being serious or not. "I think I will beg to differ ja. Now, my cute and handsome soldiers, please bring them to me alive. And no heads on a silver platter please."

A soldier in black armor stepped forward and announced. "Man enough of this talk. Imma gonna get up all in this action!"

"Well, I can see we are starting out with your stereotypical black guy," Grif noted before he hid behind Simmons upon infuriating the soldier. "Let's see how you talk after I am done with you racist boy!"

"To the sweet delicious victory that is muffins!" shouted another soldier from within the pack and the rest cheered. Wash planted his face in his palm with a heavy sigh. "Why is it that we can't seem to ever go a long time without getting wrapped up in some conflict?"

"Things just wouldn't be normal around here then," Tucker joked as he drew his rifle alongside his comrades. Washington shook his head. "I wouldn't mind for that other type of normal. There is only so much a man can take."

"Still, you guys did come knocking down our doors. As your hosts we don't take that too kindly," Sarge drew his shotgun and aimed it at Muffins' army. They could all hear a laugh break out from within the enemy forces. "You lot are going to fight against our numbers?"

"Meh, we have fought worse," Simmons reloaded his rifle and bunched up with his group. Grif could only imagine it as he felt a sting travel through his groin. "Yeah, like that time we fought all those Tex drones."

"Oh yea, that was awesome!" Tucker ecstatically replied. "Seeing you getting punched in the nuts by three of them is always entertaining."

Grif held up a middle finger towards the aqua soldier both with simple disdain and love. "Thanks, jerk."

"Um, so are we just going to talk all day or are we fighting?" one of the soldiers asked rubbing the back of his head as he looked around. "Like seriously, what is the plan, guys?"

* * *

Suddenly, several of the enemy soldiers were blasted away. Everyone looked at the stampeding footsteps headed their way. Sheila pummeled her way through the soldiers. With increasing time came the increase in her speed and power. Many of the soldiers began to scramble, even at the orders of Muffins none would stand their ground against the metal machine of death and doom.

"Oh ja, why don't you all just run away and leave your dear leader to face the mean machine lady alone?" Muffins threw up his arms in frustration and embarrassment at the cowardice his soldiers portrayed. Suddenly all of them started to bump past Muffins as if to take that as a sign of approval from their leader himself. "I was just kidding you babies!"

Muffins watched one Pelican rise up into the air, and it was instantly shot down by Sheila. Muffins slapped his forehead with his palm leaving a very red spot of idiocracy. "I knew I should have compromised to splurge out a little more cash to the more experienced soldiers. This is what you get by working with complete newbies, wunderbar!"

"This is supposed to be the invading force?" Tucker quickly withdrew his weapon at the joke of an invasion that this was. Caboose saw another Pelican trying to launch and waved goodbye to them. Doc suddenly came running out of his cave and into the canyon. "Holy crap guys, you would not believe the loud sound I heard!"

"We already know," Simmons pointed up at the sky prompting Doc to look up and be frozen in awe. "Holy crap…"

* * *

"Get back here twig soldiers!" Muffins stomped his foot on the ground. "That is an order from your dear fuhrer!"

"Fuck that man, ain't no job worth getting crushed by a killer robot lady!"

"Guess we don't have anything to fear then," Grif crossed his arms and looked towards Washington. He looked towards Sheila and gave the order to stop firing at the Pelicans. "Let them go Sheila, as long as they don't go around shooting at us then we won't fight."

"As you wish Agent Washington."

"If you don't fight, then no banana pudding after dinner in the mess hall tonight!" Muffins shouted at the top of his lungs so that everyone in the canyon and above could hear him. The Pelican all stopped in mid-air and slowly turned around. The pilots reconsidered the whole plan and activated the speakers. "No pudding for just the soldiers right?"

"I mean EVERYONE!"

The Pelicans immediately descended and the pilots looked back giving a thumb up to the soldiers. "Go get em' team!"

"You seriously landed this bird for some pudding?!" several of the soldiers began shouting in anger. But the pilots stood their ground. "This isn't any pudding! It is the most delicious pudding of them all."

The Pelicans were silent. There was no noise in the seating area as they tried to process the words their pilots spoke. Were these the words of a sane man? Probably not, but it was clear that the pilots were driven by the desperation known as pudding! One of the soldiers raised their hand to speak and said. "Yeah, we are all going fucking die here for just some pudding. It was great knowing you guys, ah who am I kidding, I hardly knew you ha!"

Washington could not help but face palm again with the loud raging thought of. "You all came back down because some pudding was on the line? Well if it's pudding that you want, then we will give them to you in the form of led!"

"That's the spirit!" Muffins was happy to see the invasion back on track again. The soldiers all exited the Pelicans in low spirits, and they held their guns with weak conviction. The Blood Gulch Crew again prepared their weapons for the fight that is to come.

* * *

 **A/N: I tried to keep things more on the comedic side with the invasion so far. Although expect some more action in the next chapter. But then again, it is so hard to stay out of the light hearted territory with Muffins :P. Hope you are all enjoying this new entry so far.**

 **Leave some feedback if you fancy :). Hope to catch you all in the next chapter.**

 **~ Monty**


	5. It Never Ends

**Chapter 4: It Never Ends**

The red team ran for their base as the blue team ran for theirs. Both teams looked back to make sure their six was covered. Sarge ran into the base full of life and excitement. "The last time I had this much fun was when we were mopping the floor with those New Order scumbags!"

"If this is your idea of fun," Grif leaned against the wall for support as he ran out of breath. "Then I don't even want to know how you spend your days off."

"Guys, focus!" Washington released the safety on his rifle and pointed it out the base window. "Tucker, have Sigma bring up a map of the canyon."

Sigma suddenly burst out into flames beside Tucker and began constructing a holographic map. Delta appeared beside the fiery fragment and aided in the information construction. Washington studied the various choke points on the map and the points that they could hold an advantage on. _The fact that we split up into the two bases was probably the better idea. With this we hold the advantage of dividing their force's focus in half. Now, we need a plan of attack to counteract them from both the bases_. Wash looked out towards Sheila. "Watch the perimeter, and make sure no one gets into the base."

"Understood, Agent Washington."

"Mind filling us in on what you are planning?" Donut questioned from red base as he sorted out through the various grenades in the base. Doc took out a rocket launcher and reloaded it with glee in his eyes. No, this was no longer Doc, but O'Malley now. "As long as it involves blasting some fools, I will be a happy evil conqueror, mwhahaha!"

* * *

Muffins' soldiers exited the Pelicans and formed various lines of offense and defense. Lopez prepared his weapon alongside the other reds. Tucker looked at Wash with uncertainty. The ex-freelancer gave a confident nod. "We will make it through this Tucker. Sometimes, you just gotta have faith."

"Now my minions, open fire!" Muffins swung his arm forward in an exaggerated manner and shook his hip from left to right. The enemy soldiers opened fire causing Sheila to take defensive actions. She fired several cannon shots at the targets easily incapacitating them. Lopez and Doc from red base did not hesitate to fight back either. Both of them fired their rocket launchers creating a trail of several explosions one after the other.

Tucker looked to his right to see the two fragments still creating a plan. "What have you two got for us?"

"We are still collecting data," Delta clarified leaving the rest very annoyed. Wash stepped closer to the fragments in irritation. "We don't have the time to collect all the data in the world right now. Just use what you have."

"I think I can help!" Theta ecstatically said from the other end of the communication line. Besides Sarge, Theta had already mapped out the whole canyon and potential advantage points. Most were in their respective bases, and their primary fighting method according to Theta would be gun combat. Sarge reloaded his shotgun in satisfaction. "You won't hear any complaints from me for this plan then."

Sister ran up the blue base's roof and fired her gun like a lunatic getting the attention of many soldiers. "Eat led you un-cool sweaty a-holes. I hope you choke on it!"

Grif quickly lowered himself from his group to where no one could see his embarrassed face. _Why? Even after I tell her not to all the times. Why does she keep on embarrassing the family?!_ Simmons took a defensive position by one of the shutters and with the assist of the aim sight. He opened fire nailing many in the knees. Donut and Grif began to throw grenades from atop the rooftop left and right. It was raining grenades for everyone!

"Ah ha! See that you invader scumbags? That's the power of red team!" Sarge opened fire several shots only to miss them all. Simmons let out an annoyed sigh. "Sarge, I keep telling you that the shotgun is useless here."

"Useless?" Sarge was shocked to hear such words out of Simmons' mouth still. "Why that's borderline lunacy talk Simmons! The shotgun is your best friend through thick and thin!"

* * *

Muffins was quick to take notice of his force's lack of cohesion as an army. "Stay in formation you pansies!"

From blue base, Tucker and Wash were busy mowing down several enemies while they were still distracted by Sister and Sheila. Caboose looked from left to right wondering what to do. Caboose jumped at the sudden voice reaching his ears, it was Tucker's. "Hey Caboose, you see those people out there? They are our friends, you should _help_ them."

"Okay," he opened fire shooting many in his line of fire. "Um, I tried to help them…but they didn't want it."

The invasion force was further disorganized. Muffins began to tear out his own hair. "Get back in formation you twig leg soldiers!"

"Screw that, we be outta here!"

The whole Blood Gulch crew was left speechless. Washington lowered his rifle as the last of the able bodied soldiers retreated into the Pelicans and begun to rise into the air. "That has had to have been the worst invasion ever, of all time."

They were further met with yet another surprise. Muffins stood in the middle of the canyon with a small white flag raised in the air. _A surrender?_ Wash was carefully considering how genuine this action was. Sarge led the red team outside with an empty sense of victory. "Hmm, that was kind of disappointing."

"Yea, too short," added Sister as she came out of the blue base. Muffins lowered his head further in defeat alongside Buttmunch and Boyscout. "This be totally my loss ja. I accept it like a man."

Soon, they began their peace talks. Amidst such talks, it was Muffins' genuine wish to once again find a common ground of understanding and perhaps regain their friendship as he saw it.

* * *

 **A/N: That was a short invasion wasn't it? Next chapter though, I have quite a bit of a surprise planned for you. Let's just say that one of the characters gets to come back into the picture. Next chapter also switches the flow of the story to be a more slice of life style of story for a few following chapters :).**

 **Hope you are all enjoying this new entry so far.**

 **Leave some feedback if you fancy :). Hope to catch you all in the next chapter.**

 **~ Monty**


	6. A New Life

**Chapter 5: A New Life**

The sky was clear and blue like the wide beautiful ocean. The sun scorched the city with its brutal heat. Everyone on the streets walked with precaution, wiping every strand of sweat with one hand and a cool drink in the other. Several civilians felt great irritation at the nearby construction site's noises. The intrusive noises of heavy machinery ached the ears of many. The workers onsite did not fare any better in this hot and dry day.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

A female worker led one of the heavy machinery slowly out of the working area. Her mid-length orange hair that was neatly tied back glistened with sweat. Her green eyes scanned the treads of the machine. "Bring it back slowly!"

She waved her handheld light cones shining a bright green towards the direction of the objective. "That's it! Slowly!"

After several trials and tribulations along the way, she managed to guide the machine to its destination. She wiped her forehead clean of her sweat and let out a heavy sigh. Her shoulders felt stiff, her muscles ached and her body just wished for the work day to end quickly.

"Not bad Greenhorn," a man in his late sixties spoke with a deep and commanding voice. "Looks like you have picked up the job very fast."

"Supervisor, sir," Carolina tensed up prompting him to warmly smile her way. "No need for such formalities, just call me Madison."

He took off his construction glasses and wiped his dark grey moustache clean. "I think this heat is going to be the death of this city. Thankfully, there are only a few more hours to go until we are off work. Then it is nice cool AC Land here I come!"

Carolina snickered a little. "How is your family?"

"They are doing well," he looked at their progress so far. "Hard to believe that we just began this project two months ago. We have already come so far in this new Space Center construction project."

* * *

The bell for lunch suddenly rang throughout the site. At the last ring of the bell, all of the machines stopped and the construction site was almost silent. Carolina was always amazed to see this sight. But just like her, everyone was looking forward to these moments. She entered the female's locker room and unlocked her locker. _It is hard to believe that I have already gotten so used to all of this_. She took out her lunch box and exited into the eating area.

"Oh, a sandwich again?" Madison approached her from the back and peeked over her shoulders. Carolina nearly jumped out of her boots. _I must be getting rusty, to think that I jumped at something like that_. "I'm not a very good cook."

"Modest as always," Madison joked as he stirred his heated pasta. Carolina felt her mouth water at the captivating gourmet food before her eyes. Madison was not one to miss such a gaze. "Want a bite Greenhorn?"

"Eh, oh sorry," Carolina quickly faced her sandwich feeling slightly flushed. "I didn't mean to stare. Did your wife make that?"

"Sure did!" Madison proudly proclaimed as he bit into the pasta. "She makes the best meals a man can ever have!"

Carolina bit into her sandwich and the mustard sprayed into her mouth creating a rush of flavors. The meat mixed in with the vegetables always felt like a rush even after so many days of eating it. Madison put down his fork and stared at the pasta seriously. Carolina was astounded to see this side of him. In all her time with him so far, while he was strict when working, he always seemed like the easy going type of man who didn't let anything burden him. She leaned in closer and met his eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"Hmm," Madison rubbed his chin and felt a few strands of hair were already growing again. "I was just thinking how lucky we all are to have a job in this terrible economy. How lucky I am to have a job, I don't know what would have happened if I wasn't able to provide for my family."

"I'm sure you would have figured something out together with your family," Carolina replied doing her best to smile. Madison took her words as a kind gesture of encouragement and thanked her for it. The two had then quickly finished their lunch and managed to wrap up just as the site bell rang again. Madison stood outside of the employee area cheering everyone on. "Alright, back to work guys! Few more hours and we are out of here!"

* * *

"There she is man," one of the construction workers nudged another on the arm. "Go on, go talk to her."

A young man in his late twenties blushed at the thought of speaking with Carolina. He felt his heart racing. He almost turned back in hesitation when he was suddenly stopped by his friends, and then pushed forward towards her. His friends watched from afar with wide grins on their faces. "There goes yet another brave soul, ready to confess his undying love to her."

"And we all know how that will turn out," said the second friend locking his hands behind his head. The first one began to struggle in holding his laughter. "Yeah, too bad he has some strict competition. She is the most sought after woman here."

"Um, Excuse me, Carolina?"

She turned back to see a nervous, fidgeting and to a certain extent weak form of the young man behind her. He did his best to smile in her presence, but to the amusement of others he was failing royally. "So, you are in charge of the beams to ropes. I mean attaching the beams to the ropes…hehehe."

"Yeah, he stands no chance," the first friend judged from the way young construction worker carried himself around her. The second one was inclined to agree. The young worker held his hands behind his back secretly fidgeting with his fingers. "So, I was wondering if you, me, out sometime? Ah- I mean if we could go out sometime that is."

 _He is trying to flirt with me?_ Carolina could not help but giggle at the pathetic yet sweet attempt. "I appreciate you working up the courage to talk to me like this, but I don't want to be anything more than friends if possible."

"Oh," his shoulders suddenly dropped in despair. She felt a distressed aura exert from him suddenly. _He fell into depression that quickly?!_ She backed away with a weak smile. "I- If you will excuse me."

The young worker walked back to his friends with his head low in the dump. The two friends patted him on his shoulders. "Cheer up man. If it makes you feel any better, you are not the first to be turned down by her."

"What do you mean by first?"

"You haven't heard? Most of the single guys here have already tried to date her but everytime she turns them down," the second friend informed the young one. The inexperienced worker's mouth dropped wide open. "She is that popular?"

"Apparently so," the first friend answered as he looked towards Carolina. "Makes you wonder if she already is in a relationship or not. I mean, there are plenty of good guys here after all."

"Talking about yourself now are we?" the second friend rubbed his chin with a sly look. The first one gave a weak laugh in return. Suddenly a new voice pierced their ears with laughter. They turned to their right to find Madison taking some good entertainment out of this. The young worker felt that his world was getting smaller by the second. "Come on boss, I just got my teeny tiny heart walked over. How about showing some sympathy?"

"Oh please, you boys don't know rejection like I do. Bwhahaha!"

All three of them fell in the dumps, and each remembered their courage going down the crapper. _She really is a hard nut to crack_. Madison was quick to however reprimand them using company time for such personal pursuits. "Now listen here, if you want to flirt then do it in your own time!"

"Y- Yes sir!"

"Good, if I find you doing that again, I will make you stay and work overtime."

"Um, I don't think you can do that…can you do that?" the young worker questioned as he scratched the back of his neck in contemplation. Madison simply gave a wide grin. "I have connections to make it happen, so back to work boys, chop-chop!"

"Yes sir!"

* * *

The final bell for the day rang. It was the bell everyone looked forward to amidst this killer heat. They were finally off of work. Carolina packed away the tools safely and went to her locker to quickly get changed. As she removed her overalls, she saw the sweat glisten under the room light. The very thing that warmed her beyond bearable measures now seemed to cool down as if ice touched her bare skin. It was still unbearable. _Hmm, I can't wait to get home and get in a nice cool bath_. She put on her final piece of apparel and closed her locker. Being the last one to leave, she shut off the lights in the room and noticed a large group by the exit.

Madison waved in her direction. "Greenhorn, some of us are going out for drinks. How about joining us?"

She rushed towards him with her hands together in an apology. "Sorry, but I can't. I am no good with alcohol in public."

"Is that so? That's a shame," Madison looked towards the younger men in the group who all looked away in disappointment and embarrassment. "Well, there is always a next time if you change your mind."

She wished them the best and began heading home. _You just don't want to step inside of a bar again, isn't that the real reason?_ Epsilon communicated directly to her brain via their neural implants. Carolina looked down at the concrete she walked on in silence. The walk home was quiet and just how she wanted it to be. Thankfully she lived close to work, so all that stress she built up during the day was still manageable for the way back home.

* * *

Unlocking the door to her apartment by confirming her identity, she undid her boots and threw her bag on the sofa and fell down into the soft leathery cushion feeling. _Ahhh, that feels so good after a hard day's worth of work_. Epsilon transferred himself over to a portable digital display unit. Here he could construct his body for others to see and interact with without the need of Carolina's armor.

Carolina stretched her limbs with a satisfied grin and stood up. "Okay, time to get to my afternoon routine!"

"Hey Sis," the fragment called out getting her attention. "How long are you going to run from it? You know York isn't here anymore."

Carolina quietly unzipped her jacket, unbuttoned her top and removed her jeans. She removed her socks and threw them into the wash. The cool wooden floor sent chills up her spine. She trudged into the bathroom and turned on the faucet. The cool water crashed in the cup of her hands creating a small pool. She longingly splashed it onto her face. _That feels so good!_

Outside Epsilon grew impatient. "How long are you going to be in there?"

He got no response. With a long drawn out sigh he crossed his arms and spoke. "If you tried going out with them to their drinking parties, it will help you in the long run. Try doing it at least once in a while. It will help you build better relationships."

Carolina stepped out of the bathroom and fetched her workout clothes. "There are other ways of doing the same thing. Not going to a bar is my choice. Right now, I am more concerned with getting something out of my journey."

She set up her training equipment and began with a few push-ups as warm up. Epsilon watched her in contemplation as he recalled their time together so far. He saw her get up on a lift bar upside down. Her knees were fastened tightly onto it and her hands rested on the back of her head. With great strength she flexed the muscles in her abdomen and lifted herself up till she nearly touched her knees with her head.

He observed her determined expression wearing itself on her face. _She has changed_ , he pondered recalling his first impression of her initially. When he first met her, he thought of her to be the hard headed, brash and impatient type of soldier. But over time she proved him wrong, even if there were moments where he was proved right. She showed that she cares for others so much so that she is willing to put her own life on the line for it. Like a caring older sister, she had the heart of a champion even if she didn't feel like one always.

 _But even after all that you still feel incomplete_. Epsilon recalled their fight with the New Order and the things that happened to her. The same organization caused her some realizations that had forced her to leave her family behind to go on this journey of change. Hatred in her eyes was a poison she needed to cure herself of. Even if it gave her strength in battle, it clouded her mind in darkness afterwards. The hate of losing her loved ones still cursed her so. The guilt spawned from the hate that haunted her daily in the darkest recesses of her mind. _How do you expect to tackle this?_ Epsilon pondered as he saw her land back down onto the floor.

"What's up?" Carolina asked noticing Epsilon's intense gaze on her figure. He turned away from her with the shake of his head. She began to pack away her workout equipment and stored it in a small closet. She rushed into the bathroom and turned on the cold water tap. She felt the water streaming down into the tub and felt a soothing feeling trail up from her hand to her body. _That feels so good. It will probably be even better when the tub is filled_.

She stripped herself of her clothes and poked her head out towards Epsilon. "If any calls come in from the UNSC, reroute them to the messaging system. Only contact me if it's important."

"I know, just go take your bath already."

Carolina was quick to act on that as she dipped her feet into the water and felt a nice shiver travel through her body. Slowly she descended the rest of her body into the water with a wide smile. _That hits the spot. A nice cool soothing bath on a hot day like this after some hard work really is the ticket to relaxation_. "This is heaven…"

Epsilon looked at Carolina in surprise as she stepped out of the bathroom with a towel on her head. "How many times have I told you not to walk around in your underwear after a bath? You will catch a cold that way!"

She took out a can of beer from the small fridge in her kitchen and held it up against her cheek. "But drinking a beer like this feels so good."

"Hmm…what am I going to do with you?"

"Nothing," she cracked open the can of beer with an innocent smile and waved it around with joy. "A beer is the best thing on a hot day like this, right after a nice cool bath."

Carolina slid open the door to her balcony and sat down with a hair dryer outside. Turning on the machine, she began to comb her hair in silence. The gentle breeze caused a chill through her shoulders and nose. She took a drink of her beer and let out a satisfied sigh. "That hits the spot!"

Having dried her hair, she leaned forward against the railing on the balcony and rested her head by its side. _This is pure bliss. To live a carefree life such as this without having to constantly worry about daily military duties, and to be able to live in peace with just these minute things to worry about. I wonder if this is the solution to hatred. Is it to leave the fighting behind, to not think about it or to suppress thoughts of combat as much as possible? Maybe this lifestyle can help harden me against hatred_. She took another chilling gulp of her beer. She stared at her can with an aloof smile. _Either way,_ _I am glad that I can take it easy like this_.

* * *

 **A/N: So, how was the surprise?**

 **With this chapter, make no mistake that Carolina and her journey will now be the primary focus of the story. This is where it really begins so I hope you look forward to her adventures. The reds and the blues will remain relevant in this trilogy, but Carolina is the main protagonist of Season 17.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Catch you all in the next one.**

 **~ Monty**


	7. Worker by Day & Vigilante by Night

**Chapter 6: Worker by Day & Vigilante by Night**

"Hey Carolina, wake up!"

She slowly opened her eyes with a lazy moan. "What is it Church?"

She turned to look at the time and felt a nerve pop up on her forehead. "Why did you wake me, do you know what time it is?"

"You have a call incoming from the UNSC."

She was now quickly awake. She rushed to the special radio she was given by the military and tuned it to properly receive the communication. "-Do you receive us Agent Carolina? Come in, do you receive us?"

 _Right, I guess they have a job for me_. She rubbed her fingers between her brows and groaned in irritation. She activated the microphone and with a deep breath spoke into it. "This is Agent Carolina. I hear you loud and clear sir."

"Finally we get through," he did not sound pleased. "Try to respond a little faster next time."

 _I woke up in the middle of the night to deal with this?_ Carolina lowered her head against the table wishing to go back to sleep. "Yes sir."

"We have a job for you."

"Who is my target this time?" she inquired thinking about the type of criminal she maybe hunting tonight. Her CO was quick to respond with a rather cryptic response. "Not someone of the usual breed like you have faced before. This one seems to be different."

"Different, how?"

"According to some insider information from his gang, he is involved in something bigger than just his crime organization. So as part of our deal for letting you take this unconventional time off, as well as setting you up with your living conditions," the CO was quick to take the dominant position in this conversation. "We expect your full cooperation in paying us back with your skill sets Agent Carolina."

"I know, I fully understand my position."

"Good," the CO replied easing up on her. "I have put an authorization through for your suit usage through. I am sure you remember this but if you get caught operating in your armor, then even we can't help you. This mission never happened."

"I understand, sir."

"Report the details once you are done," the CO cut off the communications leaving a very disgruntled Carolina to activate a wall panel. A part of the wall slid open revealing her armor case and weapons. She looked towards her partner with a sluggish grin. "Ready?"

She unlocked the case and put on the slim suit that went underneath the armor. She begun to put on the various pieces of the armor one by one and finally donned the helmet. Epsilon looked around and nodded his head. "Let's go knock some heads."

She walked with heavy footsteps to the balcony door. Sliding the door open, she attached a special lock on the outside to safe guard her apartment. "Have you marked the coordinates of our mission area on the map?"

"Yup, you are good to go. I'm sure that if you get the job done fast, you can get in a few hours of sleep still."

"Gee, thank you for your concern," Carolina noted sarcastically as she jumped off from the balcony. Activating her jets, she propelled herself forward onto the opposite building and began running and jumping from rooftops to rooftops.

* * *

As she landed firmly atop a building overlooking a large courtyard, she brought up the mission details. Her target was a very dangerous criminal that has been known to run drug trafficking operations. However according some special mentions, he has been tied to some secret operations linked to a terrorist organization that has been responsible for causing much grief worldwide. _What could he have done that put him this high up on the most wanted list?_ She jumped down into the shadows and slowly made her way remaining out of sight.

Carolina hid in a bush and surveyed the compound. Most thugs were spread out thin and on their own, however there was one large group near the doors she needed to access. She went up behind the first one, with ease he was knocked out and quickly hidden in a nearby bush. She went up behind the second and knocked him out as well. _This isn't so bad_ , Epsilon noted before noticing the large number of thugs in her way. _I hate myself for saying that right now_.

For the large group, she opted for a distraction before taking them on. She activated a small ball like device and rolled it down to the middle of the group. One of them took notice and scratched their head in curiosity. They pointed towards it getting attention from others. The device began beeping and they all panicked. But as it did not explode immediately, the little ball earned their trust once again. Suddenly the ball opened in half shooting various lightning shocks at the group of thugs. There was only one thug left standing with very weak knees. "But…why Mr. Toy Ball?"

* * *

As the last one fell to his knees, Carolina quickly rushed towards the boss's office with her pistol in one hand. Carolina could hear footsteps from the other side of the room. She kicked open the doors and aimed her pistol straight forward. "You are coming with me!"

"Do you even know who you are talking to girl?" spoke a posh dressed, arrogant like man who only thought of himself and money. He did not seem fazed by her presence in the slightest, almost as though he was expecting these things to happen to him on a daily basis. Carolina held up her pistol and looked through the aim sight. "I don't have time to deal with this bullshit."

The criminal drug lord stared out at the courtyard and shouted at his minions at the top of his lungs. Carolina rested her free hand on her waist yet again establishing her control over this situation. The drug lord looked in horror pondering about what fate awaited him.

"Your henchmen won't be coming to save you," she pointed behind her onto the ground at the pile of bodies. The drug lord was clearly shaken at the sight, so much so that he nearly died of shock. He took out a knife from his pocket and brandished it near her face. "See this? I am not afraid to use it to hurt people like you!"

The drug lord swung the knife and forced the gun away from himself. Carolina blocked another swing aimed at her neck with her forearm armor. She quickly retaliated with a strong kick to his thigh that caused him to crumble down to the ground. Slowly, in pain be begun to drag his body away. His sounds of cowardice sealed her victory.

She followed behind him, but the drug lord had one last move up his sleeve. He quickly turned around and threw his knife towards her visor. Easily dodging the flying object, she shot him through his calves, leaving his legs immobilized. With moans of pain, he continued to drag his body away leaving a trail of blood in his wake. Carolina caught up to him and stepped on one of his arms. "Just give up, you have lost. Come quietly!"

"No," she faintly heard the grovelling man speak up much to her annoyance. "I will never risk giving up the information I carry."

He suddenly held out a detonator and activated it causing clouds of explosions to engulf the room. She was propelled backwards encased in her bubble shield so carefully activated at the last second by Epsilon. "Thanks, I owe you one Church."

"AWWWAAAAHHHH!" Carolina looked at the drug lord's body on fire. She saw him rolling around in desperation, but his expression spoke a different tune than his body. "AHHH…NOW YOU WILL NEVER KNOW! MY COMRADES SHALL RISE TO BETTER THIS PLANET! GAHHHH!"

Carolina stood at the edge of the entrance and saw the fire creep up towards her. The drug lord had ceased his movements and could now only be presumed dead. _Comrades…does this have something to do with that additional information on this guy?_ Carolina backed away from the flames and contacted HQ.

* * *

"This is UNSC secret operations command center," said the operator on the other end of the line. "Please identify yourself soldier."

"Identification number, D2942800365. This is Agent Carolina reporting back from my mission. Please put the Captain on the line."

"Yes mam, one moment please."

"This is Captain Dallas speaking," said her CO. She was quick to respond with concern. "Sir, this is Agent Carolina reporting back from the mission you contacted me for."

"Ah yes, how did it go Agent?"

She had no response. Truthfully her mission was a complete failure. Her silence was all that he needed as a answer. She could hear him sigh on the other end of the line as he rubbed his hair. "Can you at least describe in detail of what transpired Agent?"

"Sir, I had managed to confront the target," Carolina paused for a moment to reflect on her own failure. "But before I could stop him, he detonated the building we were in and killed himself along with any special knowledge he held."

"What do you mean by _special knowledge_?"

"As he was dying, he said something about his comrades who will better the Earth. The reason he killed himself in the first place was to avoid capture and interrogation. It is too soon to say this for sure but he may be linked to the terrorist organization activities that were mentioned in the data you sent to me as part of my briefing."

"And what do you think about what you heard?"

"I think that this is something the UNSC should investigate further. If he had ties to a terrorist organization, then it is best to root out as much wrong we can right now."

"I agree," the CO was quickly typing away at his computer. "I will officially open up an investigation into this. Should there be any major results or if we need any additional information, we will contact you about it."

"Understood," she cut the communication and sat atop a tall skyscraper. Her gaze was intensified on the roads as she watched the people going about their business. _I failed, how could I have not been fast enough to stop him from using that detonator?!_

"It's not your fault," Epsilon appeared beside her. In an effort to console her, he found that it made things worse. She shook her head with her shoulders slumped. "I should have been fast enough to disarm him, instead I just stood there in shock and let this happen."

 _Maybe my everyday simple lifestyle has been affecting me in my combat abilities_. Carolina laid back with her arms behind her head. _Maybe, I am just getting rusty_.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that little adventure. If you have any feedback, feel free to post it in the review section or PM me about it.**

 **Thanks for reading and hope you look forward to the next chapter!**

 **~ Monty**


	8. Terror is Every Where

**Chapter 7: Terror is Every Where**

After an eventful night, the next day at work was rather slow for Carolina. Under the yet another blazing hot day, she found herself becoming encumbered by even the simplest of tasks. Her lack of sleep did not help anyone onsite either. Madison firmly patted her on the back and knocked her out of her sleepy trance. "Up partying all night Greenhorn?"

"Sir," Carolina rubbed her right eye and shook her head. "Sorry, some things came up in the middle of the night so I didn't get much sleep."

"That something wouldn't have to do with the latest incidents regarding the supply trucks now would it?" one of the workers asked as they sat down beside the two. Madison gave their co-worker a look of disapproval. Carolina looked back and forth from the two men in confusion. "What incident are we talking about here?"

"You didn't hear it last night?" the co-worker was astonished to hear this. "Are you a heavy sleeper?"

"I wasn't at home for most of the night," Carolina looked at Madison with great curiosity. "So what happened?"

The co-worker quickly took the lead. "The supply trucks used to deliver inventory to space centers, the ones used to register people to go into space for various reasons have been targeted lately. One blew up near your place. But I guess the cleanup crew did a fine job to have it all cleaned up by morning."

"Yeah…," Carolina lowered her head with a sulky expression. Madison shifted a little further from the two. It was abundantly clear to Carolina that he felt uncomfortable talking about this topic. _Does he have some experience with this?_ She wondered as she turned to look at her co-worker. "So what happens? What does the government do about this?"

"The government?" the co-worker laughed straight into the ground. "I can't tell if you are serious or not. The government is a joke. When people can get away with such terrible acts, that are straight up terrorism, the government has no excuse for their lack of action. This has been happening for a while as well. The terrorists have gotten a lot more aggressive lately, no doubt due to the incompetence of our government."

 _No matter where I go, there is always someone or something looking to hurt others. Trouble seems to be everywhere. Why can't people just let others live in peace?_ Carolina's saddened eyes lowered onto the ground they worked upon. "I feel sorry."

Her co-workers looked at her in question. She looked up at the sky and wiped some sweat from her forehead. "I feel sorry for this city and the people here. Ever since I moved here I have had pleasant experiences with most people. But to see something like this afflicting the lives of such kind people is a saddening thought. I just hope that this blight is erased from the face of the Earth quickly."

"If it were that easy," her co-worker clasped his hands together in seriousness. "I am sure it would have already been done so. But this is not just an issue here on Earth."

Madison averted his gaze from the conversation as he stretched his arms. Carolina looked at him from the sides of her eyes. _A minute ago you were interested and now you have lost all interest?_

"This terrorism is spread throughout the various space colonies as well," the co-worker continued as his head dropped. "My sister was involved in one such attack on the moon colony. She was just doing her job, and those damn bastards set off an explosion that depressurized the whole dome. It killed not just my sister, but hundreds of others as well."

"I- I'm sorry to hear that," Carolina put her hands on her thighs in respect for the fallen. "Why would these people do these things?"

"No one knows for sure. All we know that it affects our society and people greatly. Their activities cause disruptions and great harm to our various space industries as well as the economy. Why else do you think our economy is so shit right now? Space ventures are a major component of it after all."

* * *

"Ah jeez, listen to you two talk," Madison stood up stretching his back. There was annoyance in his voice clear as day. _Does he not like talking about politics?_ Carolina looked to her co-worker who shrugged their shoulders in equal confusion. Madison bent down to touch his feet and stretched every bit of the muscles in his back. "Ah that feels good. Now listen here you two. There is no point in worrying about the things that are outside of our control and just focus on our jobs."

"Wouldn't that be a little irresponsible boss?" asked the co-worker.

"I don't see it like that at all," Madison put on his helmet again and explained. "Life is best lived when it is kept simple. Getting mixed up in all these politics will do us no good."

"But what if it affects us someday?" Carolina posed the question causing Madison to immediately take a defensive stance. "Why do you seem so annoyed, and a little indifferent to this?"

"Greenhorn," Madison rested a hand on Carolina's shoulder and gripped it firmly. It was a serious grip. "Take this from an old man who has lived through life, both the good and the bad times. There really is no point in worrying, why waste the time you have in your life on things you don't have control over? To worry would be to waste time and energy we can devote to other things."

"That still sounds somewhat irresponsible sir," the co-worker noted as he stood up and walked away. Madison shook his head and shouted. "Well I have a family to take care of, family first!"

"Speaking of family," Madison looked at Carolina who curiously smiled his way and asked. "How is yours doing sir?"

"I told you to call me Madison, Greenhorn."

"That will only happen if you call me Carolina," Carolina leaned in closer teasingly. Madison let out a defeated sigh. "I can never win against those mischievous eyes of yours."

He crossed his arms and looked at the work site. Their progress was coming along nicely. Carolina stared at her boss still expecting an answer. He nodded his head and reassuringly replied. "They are doing well. You know my daughter is a lot like you. She would always love to talk about world events, and if she didn't know something happened then she would want to know about it as much as possible. Her political talk sometimes drives me nuts, especially during dinner."

"Sounds like we may be quite alike."

"Yeah," Madison looked at Carolina with a fatherly smile and agreed. "Yes, you two are quite alike. It would be nice if you ever get the chance to meet with her some day."

"That would be nice indeed," Carolina answered as she watched Madison walk away. He stopped midway to look back however. "You have tomorrow off right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Just wanted to tell you to make the most of it. Crunch time maybe coming soon so you won't be able to get much time off during that period."

"Right, thanks," she fastened her helmet and got back to work herself.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading!**

 **Feedback is always nice, so if you have some, please stick it in the comments section.**

 **Also a quick note regarding MKDemigodZ-Warrior's request in the review for the previous chapter. While I have confirmed his request in a PM, I thought to post it in here for others to see as well that I am reading and thinking about it :). His request was to see Siris/Mason Wu in the story, while I won't go into detail of when, how, where or why, I will say that he will play a role in this trilogy alongside many other characters from the Red vs Blue universe. Will there be every character so far from the universe? No, but there will be those who can serve the themes and purposes of the story.  
**

 **Catch you all next time!**

 **~ Monty**


	9. Lonesome Picnic

**Chapter 8: Lonesome Picnic**

It was a new day filled with many possibilities. Carolina looked out the balcony window pondering just this. Church fragmented onto the display unit and looked outside in contemplation. "So, today is the day off. Got any plans?"

Carolina mixed her morning coffee and took a small, yet comforting sip. "Not really, I didn't think about what I would do today."

"Let me guess," Church crossed his arms and tilted his head towards her in a disapproving manner. "You will drink lots of beer and get hammered."

Carolina smirked a little at his words. She knew he was being condescending, but she still smiled at his playful nature. Church shook his head throwing his arms up in the air. "You are supposed to be angry! You don't smile when people are assholes to you!"

"Well, you never know how people will really react until they do," Carolina stood up to retrieve her toast and spread some butter on it. "Humans are complex after all. Everyone is wired differently."

She opened her fridge and saw some ham lying in there. _It has been a while since I got this_. She inspected the meat with a keen eye. _Good, it's still fine. Then what can I do with you?_ Before she could say anything, Church held up his hand to stop her. "I know what you are thinking, and it's a great idea."

"I thought you didn't like going outside for these sorts of things Church."

"What can I say? I guess you rubbed off on me," Church looked towards the cupboards and then back outside. "So, what time do we leave and where do we go to?"

Carolina took a deep bite of her toast and began to preparer her lunch. "I want to stop by somewhere before going to the park. I guess that's where we will spend most of our day off. We will leave as soon as I prepare the lunch."

Church sat down as he saw Carolina doing her best to prepare her meal. _She sure is concentrating hard_. Church chuckled to himself at the glimmer in her eyes. _She really is looking forward to this._ _I am glad things have changed for the better, at least during these moments_. He turned his attention to the birds out on the balcony. The two birds sat on the railing, and made various noises as they looked at one another. _This kind of reminds me of the guys bickering back and forth, kind of strange but funny. I hope they are doing well. Tucker better be taking good care of Caboose, can't leave that kid to do serious things on his own after all. I wonder if Grif is busy taking a nap right about now, or maybe he is getting a good beat down from Sarge and his good old shotgun_.

Church was broken out of his thoughts as he heard the metal spatula fall to the ground. "Are you alright sis?"

"Ah, yeah," she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. Church let out a noticeable laughter causing Carolina's cheek to become even redder. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking that it's a nice change to see your clumsy side. Yeah, nice change," Church turned back towards the birds who had long since flown off from the noises. _Where did the birdies fly off to? Did they go to find a new spot to sit in, or are they in the middle of a journey like us as well?_ Church laid back with his arms behind his head. _Yup, these moments aren't so bad at all. Slow, peaceful and best of all calm. Hopefully the guys have these moments as well from time to time_.

Carolina put on the last bread on her work of 'art' and packed it into the food basket with the other sandwiches. "Okay, time to go take a bath and get ready. Then we will head out Church!"

"Yeah, yeah," Church waved towards her in an effort to get her to hurry up. "Just go take your bath already."

* * *

Half an hour later, Church transferred his consciousness back into Carolina's neural implants. He merged back with what little he had left behind in her and felt whole again. _Okay miss driver, where to?_ Church inquired from within her mind.

"Cut it out with that driver stuff," she replied waving her hand around in embarrassment. "We will go to the bakery first. I think it was down the street to our right."

 _Give me a second_ , Church's voice echoed in her head. Using what little resources he could, he pooled together a map in a sub-routine and planned the best and most efficient route to take. _Head right from here and take a left at the first intersection_. Surely enough, following his instructions got her there fast. Carolina bent down to look at the digital board with various deals on them. "Oh, they have the chocolate donuts on sale today, lucky!"

 _Don't eat too much, or else you will start to grow the bad kind of belly_. Carolina's face comically turned sour at Church's words as she shouted. "I know!"

"Welcome!" she heard upon entering the store. One of the attendants of the store stood behind the counter with a smile. She smiled back instinctively at him and rushed towards the donuts. The attendant was quick to pick her interest up and motioned towards all the varieties. "All of these are on sale today. Did you have anything in mind?"

"Yes, I was hoping to get the chocolate donuts."

"Give me one moment please," the attendant searched the trays for chocolate donuts. After a few seconds of searching, his face became puzzled. _That's strange, they are usually here. Are we all out?_ He stood up straight and gave an apologetic smile to Carolina. "I'm sorry, but could you wait there a while longer miss? We don't seem to have any here so I will just go and check if any are prepared in our kitchen or not."

"Sure," Carolina answered with an enthusiastic smile. "The day is not going anywhere without me after all."

A few minutes later, the attendant came back out with a fresh batch of chocolate donuts. "Good news miss, these are fresh so they should taste even better. How many were you thinking of getting?"

"Hmm, let's go with fou- no make it five."

The attendant worked quickly to prepare her order and complete the transaction. Just as she was leaving she heard the attendant's happy voice wish her a good day. She waved back with a wide smile stretching from one ear to the other. Church stirred up in her consciousness and commented. _You seem to be having fun_.

"There would be no point in this if it wasn't fun," she strolled in big strides towards the park and setup a cloth mattress in the perfect spot. Half off the mattress was exposed to the sun, while the other half was covered by shade. Setting the picnic basket onto the mat, she opened up the cover to take out the donuts.

 _Donuts before lunch? Real classy sis_. Carolina took one out and enthusiastically bit into it. "So good!"

* * *

She opened the other cover to take out the sandwiches she labored hard on. Cooking was not her strong point, so even something as simple as sandwiches was considered an achievement for her. But the taste should no longer be surprising now considering how efficient she had gotten at making them. Un-wrapping a few she bit voraciously into them. Church worried for her, _remember to chew!_

"You don't need to worry so much Church. I'm not a little kid."

 _Says the person eating sandwiches like a mad woman in the middle of a park_.

"That was mean," Carolina pouted surprising Church. He had a sudden thought, a question he felt the need to ask. _A- Are you trying to be spoiled?_ Carolina froze up flustered. "Well even I deserve to spoil myself sometimes don't I?"

 _Bwhahaha!_ Church laughed hysterically causing Carolina much grief. _Sorry, I didn't mean to be so loud all of a sudden. But you have been a little strange since this morning. Now I get what this was about. It's rare to see this side of you sis, but it's not so bad_. Carolina sat with her knees together and looked at the mattress in embarrassment. "Not a word of this to anyone."

 _I know, I don't want to burden myself with the trouble of explaining this to others_ , Church explained as he again began to sink back into the deep recesses of her mind. A gentle breeze blew causing her hair to dance like the ocean waves. She rubbed her shoulders together to warm up and looked up at the tree leaves. _Winter will come soon. It will be my first winter on Earth. I can't wait!_

* * *

She noticed a flower petal fly by. Soon a few others followed in a pack as if to migrate from one location to another. In the gentle breeze of the wind the petals danced around one another playfully. The purple mixed in with the yellow created a stark contrast, an attention stealer. She followed the trail back to the spot these petals originated from and was left speechless at the flower garden waist high by her legs. "Would you look at that? The new things you learn every day. I never even knew these were here."

She bent down to notice the wide variety of flowers planted in long and wide bushes. Church took an interest in them and pulled p his knowledge database. _I think the one to your right is called a tulip_. Carolina looked in the direction Church sent through her brain. "Yes, you are right."

She bent down for a smell and the wave of ecstasy invaded her mind. Church was overwhelmed by the sudden smells. _I didn't expect them to smell like this at all. Hey sis, could you go smell those roses over there?_

"Taking an interest in flowers now are we?"

 _It's not like that!_ He rebutted and then quietly added that this was for 'research' purposes, and to expand his knowledge database. Carolina laughed at the image of a flushed Church. "It's nothing to be ashamed of Church. After all, everyone needs a hobby."

* * *

A ball suddenly landed by her feet creating an echo of sounds in her ears. She bent down to pick it up and heard the cries of young children. She bounced the ball on the ground as she walked towards the kids. "Is this your ball?"

The kids were stunned by her beauty as the two boys quietly nodded. _Isn't that cute? You have admirers now_ , Church joked as he got another good laugh out of this. _Shut up before I pull you Church_. She held the ball up high in the air and prepared to throw it. "How about this? I throw the ball and you guys fetch, if you can catch it in mid-air, I will let you have the ball back for good."

"Aw but that means that you might not ever return our ball to us!"

"Don't worry, I am not that mean," she waved her hand around with an innocent smile. She threw the ball high up into the air leaving the kids frozen in their spot and flabbergasted at how far it flew. _Whoops, I guess I threw it too hard_. "I will get it, wait here you two."

A good two hours went by with Carolina playing ball and the kids doing their best to outdo her. One of the boys panicked at the time and waved goodbye to his friend. Carolina threw the ball up into the air and caught it with a smile. "Want to keep on playing?"

"Sorry, but I have to get home soon. It was fun playing Miss Carolina."

"Yeah, don't forget your ball," she answered with a happy smile stretching from one ear to the other. She went back to her mattress and lay down. Before long she noticed a moist object sniff her legs. She raised her head to see a small puppy wagging its tail. "Are you lost little one?"

* * *

The young pup rushed up to her face and barked energetically. Carolina let out a small and kind laugh at the creature's excitement. She held out a hand for the young pup to smell and gain his trust. Overhearing the voice of a young boy, perhaps in his teenage years she stood up and began to guide the dog back to its owner. "Excuse me, would he happen to be yours?"

The teen turned to face her and was immediately happy to see the little fellow. "Yes, thank you so much!"

"No problem," she answered with her hands up in the air and a sluggish smile. "He made for good company."

The puppy however did not seem ready to part from Carolina as he walked in between her legs with a loud bark. The teen boy apologized all the while trying to fetch his little companion. Carolina reached down in between her legs and picked up the dog only to have it lick her cheek. The boy was astonished to see the pup be so accepting of a new stranger. "He never allows new people to pick him up easily. He must have sensed a very positive and gentle aura from you."

 _Gentle huh? I wonder about that considering the things I have done._ She walked back with the teen and the pup to her picnic mat. The boy looked around with excitement slowly building in his eyes. "This is the first time I am sitting down in this area."

"Do you come to this park often?"

"Yes, I always take Pochii here on our walks every day. But I don't normally deviate from my routes. That only happens when he becomes a little straggler like today."

Carolina gently smiled towards the boy causing him to blush a little. _Sure, why not tease the kid a little more while you are at it Sis?_ Epsilon sarcastically noted as he took some amusement out of the boy's reactions. She placed the puppy on the mat, and he began to run in circles begging for the two to play with him. The boy took out a ball and threw it a few meters away. The dog chased after it like the hunter he believed himself to be and caught his prey. The pup brought the ball back proving his superior training and impressing Carolina in the process. She clapped her hands and rubbed the pup's neck. "You are a smart one aren't you?"

The boy was happy to see his little friend having so much fun. "It has been a while since I have seen Pochii behave like this. It's refreshing to see it once in a while."

Carolina continued to rub his neck and playfully moved down to his back. "He has beautiful fur. It's rare to see dogs with white fur as pure as his."

"Yeah," the boy rubbed the back of his neck grateful for the compliment. "I hear that quite a bit."

He looked up at the sky prompting for Carolina to follow his gaze. The clouds hovered at a low altitude, low enough to give her illusions of grandeur and flight amidst them. _One of them looks like a duck_ , she pondered studying the puffy outline from the beak to the flaps. She soon let out a relaxed sigh. _This is truly bliss_.

The boy stood up and attached the leash onto Pochii's collar. "It was nice talking to you. I have to take my leave now."

"Don't hesitate to drop by if you see me here again," she waved goodbye to them. The teen stopped to look back one last time with a wide smile, but cheeks painted in red. "S- Same to you."

* * *

Carolina watched the crowd walking past her from one side to another. She once again smiled in an unspoken happiness. _It would be great if I could just remain here forever, and keep this happy feeling from leaving my chest_. But her expression quickly turned neutral upon Church's words. _Is that because you don't want for the thoughts of your guilt to come back from the past?_

"I…," she bit her lower lip. He was right, and she knew that time won't stop just because she wanted it to. The world will still keep on rotating with or without her. "I guess I just want to shed this dirty skin and find a new light in my life."

She licked her lower lip of the blood that escaped the confines of her body. "Hey Church, tell me something. Is this simple day to day life the answer to that? Is this bliss the answer?"

 _Don't ask me, I am just a collection of data and algorithms_ , he answered in a confused voice. Carolina let out a little snicker at the comedic follow up Church had planned. "Yes, you are right. This is something that I may just have to figure out on my own I suppose."

* * *

 **A/N: How was this chapter? This one is more akin to slice of life genre that I really wanted to delve into with Carolina, to show her journey and growth. There will be more of these types of chapters in the future. But that doesn't mean I am forsaking the action, there will still be some of it in this season entry!**

 **Feedback is always appreciated. Thanks for reading!**

 **Catch you all in the next chapter.**

 **~ Monty**


	10. York of the Past

**Chapter 9: York of the Past**

The loud clang of the locker shutting echoed in Carolina's ears. She stared at the lock in her hand in slight boredom. The work day was rather uneventful. She yawned with her head held up high as if to announce to the world she didn't care. Hanging her bag from the right shoulder, she walked out and shut off the lights in the women's locker room. Outside, Madison waited with his drinking buddies by the exit of the work area. "Greenhorn, we are going for a drink at a nearby bar. Want to join us?"

She looked at the group behind him and much to her surprise there were some women in there. _I guess they finally thought to diversify a bit_. She walked towards her superior with a smile but abruptly stopped in her track. Church's low voice echoed in the back of her head. _Are you planning on turning them down again? Is this really what you want?_

She looked down at her hands as Madison tilted his head in confusion. _I know what I am doing Church. It's for the b-_ , before she could finish Church finished her sentence for her. _For the best? Give me a break! That's bullshit and you know it. Haaaa…Carolina, nothing will change if you remain at a standstill. His memories will continue to haunt you instead of help give you strength_. She gritted her teeth in anger. The truth stung her heart like a killer wasp hunting its prey with precision. But just as quickly she felt the waves rise, she quickly came back down from her high and the emotions ceased to be. Madison walked closer and bent down to face her eyes. "You don't have to come with us if you don't want to."

She turned to look up with a very sluggish smile. "Ah, sorry, I was just remembering something. I will…go with you guys."

As if that was a declaration of great achievement, the guys behind Madison all jumped in a cheer. They roared loudly in a war cry. Carolina felt a chill travel up her spine. _Why does it feel like this became an all out battleground for me? I suppose it won't be too late to back out now_. She turned around only to be stopped by Madison. He had a most childishly evil look in his eyes. "Good girls follow through on their promises."

 _Ugh, God help me!_ Carolina soon found herself being dragged away. With a defeated sigh she began walking on her own two feet in the middle of the group. _They have me surrounded, no chance for a tactical retreat. O fate how I curse thee!_ She lowered her head with a pout and then looked towards Madison. "So, where are we going sir?"

"Cut it out with the 'sir' stuff. We are off work now, no need for formalities. It's Madison, Greenhorn!"

"As long as I am called 'Greenhorn', you will be the 'sir' or 'boss'."

The others burst out into laughter with a voice rising from the gang. "She got you there Madison."

"So," Carolina again called out to the man in the lead. "Where are we going?"

"It's a small bar," Madison responded with the wave of his finger and a modest smile. "But the drinks they serve there are some of the best in town. You will love it there!"

* * *

It was not long before she was standing at the front doors of the bar. She looked up at the sign dumb founded and deep in thought. _I wonder how many years it has been since I have been to one_. She stepped inside behind the others and received the welcoming hospitality of the staff. They all seated down at a large table and were each served a menu. She looked at the many choices with anxiety. "It has been several years since I last saw a bar menu, and such high-fi drinks to boot."

Madison beside her tapped the table and gave her a reassuring smile. "You will be fine. Heck, you could probably hold more alcohol than some of the newbies here hahaha!"

"Even off duty you are ruthless sir," one of the said newbies commented with their head low in shame. Madison again laughed heartily. "But it's true!"

"Here are you drinks, please enjoy!" the server enthusiastically stated as they placed the glasses beside the correlating customer. Carolina glanced at the waiter walk away in high spirits. _Reminds me of my youth_. She looked around at the bar counter and saw two young people, male and female flirting with one another. _York…_ , her mind began to wander into the past. Her body felt light as if being lifted up into the weaves of time itself and thrown back down the thread called past.

* * *

With the high heels hitting amidst the reflective floor tiles, the red headed woman walked proudly with confidence. She stared at the neon sign reflecting on the ground and looked up at the Club Errera. She walked up to the bodyguard who asked for her ID. Verifying her age, he let her through with one last look at the attractive slim build on her body. She could feel his lecherous eyes on her. _Pig_ , she thought and approached the inner ring of the club past all the maniac dancers.

She rubbed the back of her hair in annoyance. _Damn do people here know how to party like there is no tomorrow. Pretty crazy_. She noticed the flickering sounds of a lighter nearby. Using her well developed senses she honed in on the cause. Nearby at the bar sat a handsome dark brown haired man. She walked to the seat beside him and snatched the lighter out of his hand. He looked up astonished at the speed at which she took it away from him. Studying the lighter, she let out a smirk. _This has quite a wicked design on it now that I take a closer look_. Carolina could tell that the man was taken in by her confidence, but perhaps more so from her beauty as well.

"Um, can I have that back?"

"Do you really treasure it that much?" she asked flicking open the lighter and closing it. The flame reflected like a beautiful shine of energy in her green eyes. It was so beautiful that he was yet again left speechless. But this lighter meant too much to him to be so dumb founded right now. "Yes, it does."

"Then you should take better care of it and not use it so carelessly in public," she lectured while ordering a martini from the bartender. "Especially don't use it to annoy others."

She could tell that her little lecture got to him. She gave a devilish grin and threw the lighter up in the air. He quickly jumped out of his seat to catch it but was beaten to the punch by her. "You know, I have taken quite a liking to this."

He slumped back into his chair with a heavy sigh and her expression turned quite sour. "You know, for a guy so handsome you sure do give up easily."

"Only against beauties such as yourself," he replied with an aloof smile. "You can never win an argument against a princess after all."

"Oh, you think I am a princess?" she leaned in closer with her drink and took a gentle sip. She licked her lips clean causing his heart to beat faster. "Maybe I can prove you wrong in a dance of fists."

"I- Is that an open invitation to a fight?"

"Maybe," she answered backing off and finishing her drink. She left some cash beside the glass and threw the lighter back to the man. "You are a soldier after all, aren't you?"

"Where did you get that impression from?"

"Something about the way you talk, and your attitude gives me that impression."

He let out a loud enough laughter to gather sharp stares his way. "You really are something miss. Next time we meet, drinks are on me."

"I'm not that easy to impress," she replied with the wave of her hair. "But, you are more interesting than most men I have come across in these types of places."

"What's your name?" he shouted as she neared the outer ring. Carolina wore a flirtatious smile on her face as she turned to stare him straight into his mysterious eyes. "Carolina, you?"

"Me, I'm- "

* * *

Carolina was suddenly broken out of her ride to the past. She found Madison to the right shaking her with moderate force. "Are you alright Carolina?"

She nodded her head with a palm resting on her forehead. "Sorry to worry you."

She looked around at the worried faces all pinned her way. She lifted up a hand as a gesture of appreciation. "Thank you all, sorry to worry you guys. But I am fine."

Carolina turned to face the family man with a smirk. "That's the first time you used my name, what gives Madison?"

"I was just worried about you is all, can't have my junior going senile at this age!" he stated chugging down a huge glass of tequila. His cheeks blushed in embarrassment wanting for Carolina to poke fun at him. But she refrained from doing so as her past still continued to haunt her. _I knew something like this might happen_. She lowered her head in a rather depressive state of mind. _Come on sis, you can't go and get upset like this now. Not after coming so far with everyone_. Epsilon tried to argue his way with logic, but such arguments held little weight in the face of swirling emotions.

Madison was not blind to this change in atmosphere around Carolina. He gently tapped her shoulder and pointed out to the exit. "Mind if we go out for a bit?"

* * *

 _We have been here for a while now_ , Carolina pondered as she noticed the dimmed skies upon stepping outside. The vermillion that once shaded the clouds was no longer present. Instead it was replaced by a dark grey shade not affected by the moonlight. Madison held out a box of cigarettes and took one out. "You don't mind if I smoke do you?"

"No, go ahead," she replied leaning back against the storefront in a hunch. He searched his pockets for a lighter, but was surprisingly met with the bright flame from her precious treasure. He took her up on her offer and lit his smoke from York's lighter. "I didn't know you smoked."

With the flame glimmering in her eyes and a low, but sad tone she shut the flame off. "I don't, this was a present."

"A practical present at that," Madison let out the smoke from his mouth with a relieved sigh. "I wonder how many days it has been since my last smoke. I guess quitting this addiction is easier said than done."

"You are trying to quit?"

"Yup," he took another smoke in and out. "For my family, can't be beaten down by smoking at my age now can I? Plus, I want to be there for them for as long as possible."

Carolina warmly smiled his way. "You really do care about your family don't you? They are lucky to have you."

"No, I'm lucky to have them in my life."

 _Family, if York was alive, would he and I have started a family of our own?_ She looked up at the moon with an evident longing in her eyes. Madison let out another cloud of smoke as he watched the ash slowly build up and fall to the ground. "What's been bothering you Carolina, what has you so down in the dumps all of a sudden?"

"I was that obvious huh?"

"You were easy to see through. I would say it was as clear as a clean glass window."

"Gee, that makes me feel so much better," she sarcastically replied putting Madison at some ease. _At least she hasn't lost her sarcastic sense of humor_. He took another smoke and looked up at the moon with her. "So, what's been eating at you?"

"I guess, it was just some memories that I remembered inside the bar. They are really sad memories now compared to the past."

"Memories eh?" Madison threw down the cigarette and crushed it under his foot. "They sure can be a tricky thing, especially the ones that insist on persisting at the forefront of your thoughts."

"Madison?"

"Take it from an experienced veteran in this matter kid," Madison hardened his gaze towards Carolina with clear hints of sadness and longing in his voice. "If you remember sad memories, then try to think of happier times. It always helps me because god only knows of how miserable I have been in my life before. Remember the happy times, hold onto them while doing your best to survive and live on."

 _Madison…_ , Carolina was both shocked and surprised to hear such words out of his mouth. _You always struck me as a happy family man. But I suppose we all have our sadness that we are always fighting against_. He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment as his cheeks flared up from the evening breeze. "Don't tell anyone else that I told you that. Got to maintain the hard ass boss image after all hahah! Say Carolina, this memory, is it about an event or someone special?"

She stared blankly down at the pavement for a few minutes. She found herself arguing inside. _Should I tell him or be vague about it?_ She looked up at the dancing leaves as they rushed past the two of them. Her mind was made up. This was the first time in a long time she was talking to someone so openly, perhaps this choice is best. "The memories are about someone very special."

"Oh, a boyfriend?" Madison grinned in intrigue as he rubbed his chin mischievously. Carolina felt her cheeks burn a bright shade of pink. "T- That's all you are getting out of me on that topic!"

"Ha ha, relax kid," Madison stretched his back and arms. "I'm just pulling your leg. But since it's someone very special, try and remember the good times with that person. Maybe those memories will help ease the pain of the sad ones. Of course the opposite is just as true, but you are a strong person so I doubt that would happen so easily."

Carolina bowed her head in relief. "Thank you for your advice, and kindness towards me."

"Don't go around bowing your head like that," Madison complained as he patted her back. "Makes me seem like an old man, I want to be what you kids call it…cool or hip. Is that the right word? I want to be that, on the same level with you youngsters!"

Carolina chuckled gently at his attempts to seem young and cool. Madison was happy to see the brighter shade on her face return alongside her smile. _Well, my work is done here_. He opened the door to the bar. "Take all the time you need out here. We will be waiting for you inside, you are not alone."

* * *

She once again thanked him before remembering the time York spent beside her in the infirmary unit after when she failed to adapt to her two fragments in Project Freelancer. A wider smile plastered onto her face as the genuine feelings of love swelled up in her chest. _Thank you for all that you did York. You really were an interesting man, and more so a kind partner_. She slowly opened her eyes returning back to reality. _I'm sorry for all that I put you through. I did so many horrible things to you but you still tried to stick it out with me. I really am a horrible woman, one who didn't deserve you. Still, I am happy to have been loved by such a great guy_.

Just then Epsilon realized something vital. He recalled Carolina's experience within the Alien tower on Chorus used to prove her worth as the Chosen Warrior. The nightmare she experienced there as well as the one during her recovery after a failed rescue attempt against the New Order, it started to paint a clear picture for him. _Sis, you have lost a lot of people. But you have truly yet to let them go, don't you?_

"Probably, but something like that is easier said than done. Just how am I supposed to do this?"

 _I don't understand these types of feelings all that well_ , Epsilon admitted as he was still in the process of getting a better grasp on human emotions. _But I know that with these feelings, you are wrecking yourself with guilt. Someday it may crush you till there is nothing left of your spirit. You need to let go_.

"I know," she let out a heavy breath with the grit of her teeth. "I did it a little in the past. You taught me about this after all, or rather a past version of you. But there are some things in life we still can't let go of so easily. I guess that's our curse as humans."

 _If you really want to make some sense of this journey and grow as a person, then you need to be free of all restraints sis. Maybe letting go is a part of that process and might help you learn something_. Carolina had no retort to that statement. His words rang a truer bell than any other. "I know…I know that all too well. But how am I supposed to do that without having the knowledge of the experience. 'How' is the problem, it somehow always is."

Carolina went back inside and picked up her bag. Everyone looked at her in surprise as one of the newbies asked. "Leaving already?"

"Yeah," she turned to face Madison with grateful eyes. "Thank you for inviting me, but I think it's best for me to go home now. After all, I do have quite a bit to think about."

"If you say so," Madison gave her a thumb up. "I won't try to stop you. If you need advice again, don't hesitate to hit me up."

"Thank you," she turned to pay for her share of the bill at the counter and quickly left. Before embarking on her walk home however, she looked back one last time at the bar with a heavy heart. She gripped her chest upon seeing York's face flash in her eyes. She walked home with her head down in deep thought the whole way. As she entered her apartment building she called upon Epsilon. "You are right, I do need to do something about my guilt. If I can't learn to be free from my past, then how can I ever hope to move freely towards the future?"

 _Perhaps the time has finally come to move on from you York_. She opened the door to her apartment. She threw her bag on the couch and slumped deep into it. _No matter how long it may take, I have to walk this path now. I must move on from and break from the chains that bind me to these saddening memories. I must become free_.

* * *

 **A/N: Writing about the first meeting between York and Carolina was quite interesting. I hope that little bit of expansion in their meeting was to your liking as well. I also hope that you, the reader got a sense of certain character realizations and growth in this chapter.**

 **Got any points for improvement? Please post them in the review section or PM directly about it.**

 **Thank you for taking the time to read the chapter and your readership!**

 **See you in the next chapter!**

 **~ Monty**


	11. Learning to Let Go

**Chapter 10: Learning to Let Go**

The doors of the convenience store slid open upon detecting her presence. As the two doors split apart, she was hit with a gentle breeze of a vermillion shaded afternoon. With her shoulders slumped in fatigue, she walked out and looked around in desperation. _Just let me get home into my comfy couch and a nice cool can of beer in my hand_. As the orange hair strands danced wildly in the breeze she noticed the weather becoming slightly chillier lately.

 _You know, sometimes I really do worry about you and your drinking habits_ , Epsilon noted as he weighed the six-pack she just bought. Carolina looked up in irritation like a child being told to do their chores much to their annoyance by others. "Once in a while is fine."

 _More like every night in your case. At this rate you will start collecting fat in places you want to avoid_. Epsilon let out a small chuckle greatly annoying Carolina. A vein popped up in her forehead and her whole body trembled with embarrassment. "And what's wrong with that?! I am an adult and as such I can drink every night if I want to!"

 _Huh, are you sure you are an adult sis?_

"Whatever, not listening any more la la la…," Carolina suddenly stopped in her tracks to notice a most curious figure sitting by the riverside. _I didn't think we would come across something like this_ , Epsilon was equally surprised as he tried to make sense of this. On the pavement by the riverside sat a bald man who could be no older than perhaps two to three years from Carolina. He fashioned a most distinctive piece of clothing compared to those around him. From the way he sat, the way his aura was so calm and peaceful alongside this sense of inner peace he looked like a monk.

* * *

"Um excuse me," Carolina called out to the man who gently opened his eyes and looked back. With a welcoming smile he motioned for her to get closer. "Good afternoon miss."

Carolina returned the greeting and followed the monk's gaze towards the clouds. "Do you like clouds?"

"I love the vermillion shaded clouds. They are most beautiful at this hour in my eyes. Plus this time of the day is perfect for outdoor meditation. This spot also provides me with a great view for when I open my eyes."

Carolina did her best to follow the monk's passion filled words. _He must really love being a monk_. "Say, winter will be coming soon. The breeze today is already a little colder than it was yesterday. Aren't you cold in just your current clothes?"

The monk returned his gaze down to the pavement and closed his eyes. He did not seemed bothered in the slightest compared to Carolina who was beginning to fidget in her spot to warm herself up. The monk once again smiled her way with an appreciation for her enthusiasm in their conversation. "I don't mind. With patience and perseverance, anything is possible."

Her mouth dropped slightly at his words. _With patience and perseverance huh, you make it sound so easy and yet life constantly keeps on throwing new obstacles my way every day_. Carolina turned her attention towards the river and let out a tired sigh. "It must be nice to lead a simple life."

"My life is by no means simple," the monk broke his meditative pose and rested his hands between his legs. He looked at the glimmers on the river having lost his worm smile in favor of a complete tranquil expression for a moment. "But, I wouldn't trade it for anything else."

"I suppose that is true if you love what you are doing. So, are you part of any monasteries in the city?"

"No," he shook his head and looked back towards the city with a most curious smile on his face. "I was surprised to see that this city doesn't have any temples or anything, just a few churches. But I suppose that is to be expected considering how weak the need for religion and spiritual enlightenment has gotten on Earth. I am actually from somewhere far away. I am on a journey I suppose you could say. My masters suggested that I take this journey to learn as much as I can about the world to better appreciate their teachings and the enlightenment we obtain because of said teachings. I suppose another purpose of my journey is to be able to help those looking for it to the best of my abilities."

"Journey," Carolina smiled his way causing the monk to tilt his head in curiosity. She looked down towards her bag and said. "I am on a journey as well."

"Ah, a fellow traveller," the monk clapped his hand with much enthusiasm. "So, what sort of journey is it that you have embarked on?"

"I don't know," Carolina's eyes glimmered in sadness as she continued. "But I know that I want to learn to let go of so many things in my past on this journey, so many sad and bad things. The main thing I want to let go of is hate."

"Ah hate, what a tricky emotion that is," the monk lowered his head in deep thought as if to collect his wisdom for her. "It is a primal emotion that could be said to be instilled into most sentient life in one way or another. But it should be appreciated for what it is. Everything in this world exists for a reason."

"How can someone appreciate hatred?"

"You can appreciate it because when applied correctly in self-defense situations, it can help sustain you and your life," the monk's face darkened slightly at the words to follow. "But, when used against others for malicious intent, it can be quite saddening to see. Such sights bring nothing but heartache to everyone in the world further pushing us away from world peace."

"Yes, you are right," she nodded her head harder the more she thought about it. "But hate is such a widespread issue. It is no longer just Earth, but everywhere people go. Because of that, I have seen some terrible acts of hatred, greed and corruption. There have been wars sometimes purely fueled on hatred."

"Yes, you are right. As long as these primal emotions in people exist, we can probably never rid ourselves of hate. There will always be someone to pull the trigger first sadly. I suppose it is for this reason that the monks choose to segregate themselves into isolation from human society. In essence, we choose to become hermits."

Carolina grinned his way thanking him for the interesting knowledge. "So then maybe you can answer my next question. What would the monks say about a method to letting go of hate?"

"Letting go of hate?" the monk rested his chin in deep contemplation in one hand. She could tell that her question had him stumped. But even so, the monk persevered and found his answer to share with her. "Please keep in mind that this is my own answer based on my outlook on the world. It may not necessarily agree with yours. I think that to let go of hate, we have to overpower it with another primal emotion like love."

"What if there is no one in your life that you could claim to be a lover of sorts?"

"Ah, that's not what I meant," the monk shook his head immediately rectifying her thought process. "What I mean by love is to be able to love all life in general regardless of their size or significance in your perspective. To be able to love all life equally is perhaps the greatest gift one could give to this universe."

His words hit her like a speeding bus. The realization was strong within the truth behind his words. The revelation unfolded itself in her mind. The monk could see from her visibly shocked yet curious expression that his words made an impact. "Just do your best to simply smile and not think too much about this. Instead of hatred, focus on the present and all the good it has to offer. Focus on the good in your life and the rest will naturally follow."

 _He is right_ , she calmed her expression and looked down at the water. _I can't believe that such a simple little thing, an answer I already knew about is something I would come to agree with coming from another person's mouth. Was I hoping for something fancy for an answer? But if he is right, then he is right_. She stood up straight and turned towards the monk. She gently bowed her head out of respect for his wisdom. "Thank you for your time and kind help."

"No need to thank me," the monk raised his hand in a humble gesture. "If I can help even one person on this journey, then I will be fully content to have come here."

Carolina smiled and nodded her head. "Thank you, and best of luck for your journey."

"Same to you, may our paths cross again. It was interesting chatting with you."

* * *

She thanked him again before running off in the direction of the city railway system. _Slow down, what's gotten into you?_ Epsilon was very confused as to what prompted Carolina to behave like this. Running up the steps, with every clack of her heels she reached the top. She bought a ticket and observed the slightly occupied station. _Not too busy at this time of the day? I suppose rush hour is over. That makes it all the more better_.

 _Seriously sis, what is going on?_

"I'm going to do exactly as that monk instructed. I'm going to stop thinking too much about things and do what makes me happy. I am going to go on a small adventure."

 _Right now?_ Epsilon was surprised to hear such brashness in her voice. But at the same time he didn't mind it, but instead loved these somewhat sporadic moments she had. Carolina observed the train pulling up to the station and the doors opened inviting her in. "No better time than the present."

* * *

The doors slowly and gently closed behind her indicating the train's departure. Epsilon now interested in the idea curiously asked, _how far are we going?_ Carolina strolled through the compartment finding the perfect spot. She set her bags down on the seat opposite to her and sat down with one elbow on the window sill, and her check resting gently on her fist. "How about the other end of the city?"

 _Sounds good, let's make this an adventure to remember!_

A carefree smile paints itself onto her face. She watches the city landscape pass by on the huge window. The vermillion sky sends the shivers of warmth into her body. The train speeds through the air like a weightless snake, one that has grown so light that it has grown wings. The people she saw, the cars she came across and the wonderful architecture that imprinted itself onto her memories instilled a certain beauty observable onto her face. Even those around her begun to partake in the sightseeing out of interest and were met with a satisfaction like none other. It really was sometimes the simple things in life that made the days fun.

She stood up and felt the vibrations of the train beneath her giving her a childish sense of enjoyment. The same enjoyment she once received as a child riding the train for the first time. As the station neared, she pulled up her bags to her wrist and exited to greet the fresh air. In the distance was a beach, and suddenly an adventurous sense further struck her. Rushing down the stairs, past the crossings and the entrance way she finally made it to the beautiful view that caught her sight on the station.

She gently walked in the uneven sand with a gentle breeze blowing her way. It set the perfect mood for a calming evening. The golden hour of the sky, the happy voices of kids playing in the water and pure bliss all around, this was the peace Carolina sought. _I finally now understand why I was so frustrated with my hatred. I had the answer all along, but I was suppressing it. Maybe I just needed his wisdom to help me along and accept the answer_.

Her smile grew from one ear to the other as she cleared a few strains of hair in her vision. It really was an amazing thing at what chance encounters could bring to us in our lives. It can bring good things, bad things and sometimes it can be completely indifferent to us. _But as those with the intelligence, I suppose it is our task to interpret it the best possible way we can. I promise, I promise here and now to smile more and to suppress the usage of hate as best as possible in my life. I want to let the hatred go and fill that spot with deep rooted seeds of love. I want to be free_.

Carolina stopped in her tracks and let the bag hang in her hands behind her back. She stared up from the orange tinted ocean to the golden skies and breathed in the fresh air. She nodded her head in determination, her goal was set and she was prepared to take the steps towards the goal. _I have to move on. I have to let go. I have to be free. I will be free_.

* * *

 **A/N: Remember what I said about musical suggestions that I may give so that you can listen to it in the background while imagining the scene play out in your heads? Well here is one for you.**

 **Music: "Goodbye" by Nurko**

 **Start playing it from the second last break line (from the moment she is on the train).**

 **Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed that chapter!**

 **This was one of the chapters/scenes I had in mind when I first started drafting ideas for this new trilogy. Constructive feedback is always appreciated. I hope to see you back here again in the next chapter!**

 **~ Monty**


	12. Let's Be Friends Again

**Chapter 11: Let's Be Friends Again**

"Oh my ja, this tea is simply lovely!" Muffins held up the cup with a most satisfied smile as he cupped his warm cheek with the other hand. Grif was inclined to agree. "It sure i- I mean what are you doing here drinking our tea?!"

"I thought we could be friends again and cruise Blood Gulch like hommies."

"So we are just going to bury the possible murder attempt under the rug now?" Simmons crossed his arms feeling agitation rise. Muffins nodded his head up and down, nods so high and low that one could mistake Muffins' mind to be like that of a child. _No, I think it's more like criminally insane_ , Simmons pondered with a heavy sigh. "Okay, I am out."

"[Don't worry. I added oil from our warthog in his tea. Hopefully with any luck he will kill over and die. We can then just bury him somewhere and put this all behind us.]"

Everyone looked at Lopez clueless. But Donut did his best to not scold the Spanish robot having perfectly understood what was just spoken. Muffins looked from left to right at those around the table. "It is so good to be drinking tea again with my hommies!"

"We never drank tea together before, also we are not friends," Tucker gently kicked the table in impatience. This impatience stemmed from the agitation of how quickly things were resolved, and how there were no consequences for Muffins' actions. He just wanted Muffins gone as quickly as did his best to mediate between the two sides, while O'Malley did his best to screw up every attempt Doc put forth to derive amusement out of it. Caboose simply continued to have a good time watching the comedy routine play out.

* * *

"Man, I have had enough of this tea!" one of the soldiers shouted from behind the crew. They approached Muffins with crossed arms and a crossed attitude. "When are we going to see some action again?"

"If its action you want, I can always _show_ it to you in my private quarters stud."

The soldier felt chills travel up his spine. He cracked out a most broken smile with his hands held up high. "No thank you."

"Such a shame, you have a nice ass," Muffins flirtingly commented as the soldier held back a bit of bile in his mouth. He felt a vein pop up in his head as he kicked the table and knocked down the tea. The solder stomped away, and the others were left confused. _Just how insane is his crew?_ That was the single most prominent thought running through their heads. Muffins stared at the spilled tea teary eyed, with a sniffle he looked up at the Blood Gulch Crew and raised a hand like a needy child. "More tea please!"

"Good luck with that," Sister replied in a matter-of-fact tone. She rested one hand on her hip and caught the eyes of the other soldiers. One of them stood up in surprise. "Guys, there is a chick here!"

"I'm a chick," one of the pelican pilots raised her hand. No man looked her way as one did his best to reply to her in the nicest way possible. "Well you see, you are a military girl so…"

"Well excuse me for being strong and independent."

"No, it's just that we guys have different variations of chicks that we like. Yeah, different types of chicks so…"

"Why don't you come back to me when you stop stumbling over your own words and grow a pair down there?" she patted the man's crotch causing him to sit back down in immediate embarrassment. Grif stood in front of Sister causing every man to send deathly glares his way. "Who the fuck is that guy?!"

"Her brother, got a problem?!"

"Oh, so you are like my future brother-in-law!" several shouted at the same time and quickly turned their deathly glares towards one another. "Back off man, I called dibs!"

"No you didn't!"

"Wait, didn't they just skip a few steps there?" Donut pondered with a smile. _It's good to see things calm back down again_. Sister proceeded to go and hide into blue base amidst the fight that quickly broke out for her affection. Grif snickered under his helmet at the morons duking it out all for a 'chick'. Muffins played with his fingers pressing them up against one another and cleared his throat. "So, I have been meaning to ask. Are we friends again?"

"And why would we want to do that?" Tucker inquired leaning forward in a very dominating manner. Sarge agreed with the blue soldier. "Yeah, why would we want to be friends with a crazy guy?"

Tucker laughed out loud. "Says the guy who has a phobia of getting his flag stolen every morning by us."

"Quiet you dang dirty blue, so why would we want to be friends with you again Muffins?"

"Because I have connections," Muffins gently rested the newly filled tea cup onto the table and rested the tip of his nose atop his fingers. "Very important connections, an asset I figured could come in handy someday. I mean all you would have to do is ask and all of my contacts will be at your disposal."

"Hmm, that doesn't sound like a bad deal," Sarge considered the proposal as did the others. "But still…"

"You have got yourself a deal bro!" Tucker took Muffins' hand into a firm grip. Sarge was surprised to see the sudden polar shift in attitude. Grif looked back from the side of his eye and let out a sigh. _Great, more annoyance to put up with, thanks Tucker_. Donut clapped his hands in excitement. "Isn't this great? Everyone getting along happily at this tea party!"

"Hooray for tea party!" Caboose exclaimed.

"I will have you know that 'happily' is quite subjective here," Grif stated with the nod of his head in absolute certainty. He was convinced that Muffins was insane, but intelligent at the same time. The man had his ways of working his way out of situations all the time. _Muffins you are one serious crazy bastard we picked up, I wonder how we can abandon you as well_. Grif sat back down as the ruckus behind him continued. "Hey almighty Captain, can't you tell your troops to shut it or something?"

"Why? It is fun seeing them fight like that. Plus I get some nice _angles_ of my men from here."

"Now that we have all made up," Donut pointed towards red base. "I will go get the freshly baked muffins I just finished making. Muffins stood up in surprise. "You wished to bake me? My you dirty boy you."

He abruptly received a karate chop to the head from both Corporal Buttmunch and Boyscout. "Sorry about that, we will make sure that he behaves from now on."

* * *

Inside blue base, Wash stood in front of the communication screen with his hands behind his back, he assumed a strong form in front of his conversation partner. On the screen was the red headed soldier Carolina. She looked at his familiar blue and yellow armor with a smile. "I see you have changed back."

"Yeah, I figured it would be nice to. But I am more surprised to see you call out of the blue like that all of a sudden."

"Sorry for not keeping in contact," she rubbed the back of her head with a sluggish grin. Wash shook his head and assured her that it was fine. "You are not obligated to call us by any rules or anything. But I am glad that you gave us this surprise call. It's a nice change I suppose."

"Change, man I have been seeing that a lot ever since I left for this journey."

"I figured that you might."

"The biggest surprise I have come across is here on Earth of how bad things are."

"Pardon?"

"What do you think when Earth is mentioned Wash?"

"I think of a peaceful, blue planet with much elegance and efficiency to our cities," he answered picturing his ideal Earth in his mind. Carolina gave a smirk and nodded her head. "Yeah, that perception does make sense for those who have never been here before. But Earth I'm sorry to say is nothing like that. Like any other place with sentient life, it has its problems."

"Are they dangerous problems?"

Carolina remained quiet at the inquiry. Wash grew worried as he stepped forward. "If it's too dangerous, you can always just come back here to us you know."

She shook her head and reassured him with a smile. "I am not going to go down that easily you know, I am a fighter after all. But I never thought that Earth would be plagued by terrorism in this day and age after the Great War. It's really saddening to see."

"Terrorism, I suppose it would be equivalent of extremists from the various space colonies."

"Yes, I guess that's true," Carolina looked down at her hands in worry. "Sometimes I wonder whether people have taken the correct path or not. If all we can ever do is create and resolve conflicts, how can we ever find true peace?"

"Conflict has always been a deep integral part of human nature."

Carolina remained quiet soaking his words. The truth glared her deep into her heart. "If only we could all come to a mutual understanding and move on from our hatred."

"That would be quite the ideal world," Wash noted with a smile underneath his helmet. _I think this journey has made you more openly compassionate than before. I'm glad to that you took this journey Carolina_. He looked to his left upon hearing more noises from the outside. "Just remember, if things get too tough to manage, there will always be a space for you here."

"I appreciate the thought Wash," Carolina answered with a warm smile. Hearing those words made her happy, it made her happy to know that there will be someone waiting for her regardless of how far she goes from them. "But I promised myself to see this journey through to the end. Plus I am under contract from the UNSC to fulfill a certain number of high level missions on Earth before I am permitted free leave. I am after all being given special treatment. They have helped me out immensely with my journey, living conditions as well as helping me find day to day work."

"Day to day work?"

"Yes, I work as a construction worker. Sounds strange doesn't it?"

"Kind of," Wash laughed at the image of Carolina on a construction scene. "I never imagined you working a job like that."

"Neither did I," she answered back with a giggle. "But it is all a part of daily life now. No matter whatever challenge society throws my way, I will tackle it head on."

"It's good to see that your determination is as strong as ever," Wash again looked to his left at the growing noises outside. _What are they up to out there?_ He looked back at the screen with his hands clamped together. "Sorry, but I think my time for talk is running short. Looks like the guys are up to something outside."

"Heh, it's good to hear that they haven't changed much either. I won't keep you for long," Carolina answered as she held up a can of beer. "I have a date with this can right here."

 _Looks like she is living it up there_ , Wash pondered with a happy smile for her. Carolina rested the cool can against her skin. "That feels so good. I will try to call again when I can. It was good talking to you Wash."

"Same here," he answered as he moved towards the communications panels. "Take care of yourself Carolina. We will be here waiting for your return, and all the stories that you may bring."

"You to, look after our family for us."

"You got it," Wash then canceled the call and let out an annoyed sigh as another loud noise entered his ears. _Really now, what are they doing out there?!_ He wondered as he stomped outside with a wide smile on his face. _I am glad that while some things have changed, other things haven't_.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that chapter. I figured it would be nice to go back to Blood Gulch for this one chapter. Plus I didn't want to leave the whole mini-subplot with Muffins unresolved.**

 **Catch you all in the next chapter!**

 **~ Monty**


	13. Gift Hunting

**Chapter 12: Gift Hunting**

Madison walked briskly in this chilly morning. He entered the mall while puffing some warm air onto his hands. _Give me a break. First it's hot during the day and then its super cold in the nights and early mornings. What do you want from me all mighty weather?_ He walked past the various shops just beginning to open and to a designated meet-up spot. The red headed woman was already there standing like an elegant being by the water fountain. Madison smiled and waved her way. "Sorry for calling you out this early for this favor."

"It's alright," Carolina smiled with the tilt of her head. "After all, it is a gift for someone in your family right?"

"How did you know? I don't remember telling you it was ever for my family."

"Call it a woman's intuition," she teased leaving Madison to scratch the back of his head. _Why do women always say that?_ But all the same he laughed it off and pointed to his right. "How about we begin our search there?"

"Sure, so who is the gift exactly for?"

"For my daughter," Madison entered a jewelry shop ahead of Carolina and began to browse a few selections within his budget. He suddenly eyed a small jeweled ring. _That looks good, but she might not like a ring. She isn't much into rings after all_. Carolina perused the necklaces after getting a general idea for Madison's budget. _This shop sure is high end_ , Carolina thought resting her chin in her hand. She looked out towards a clothes store and suggested a quick visit to Madison. The elder man agreed and the two entered a whole new world. Even for Carolina, it was her first time going into such a specialized woman's clothing store. "Wow…"

"So, what type of clothes would you suggest?" Madison waited patiently for her input as she took the time to become acclimated.

"You are asking me?"

"Yup, it's not like I would have any need to visit these stores ha ha ha!"

"Hmm, let's see…what type of person is she?"

"I would say she is like you. She is strong, practical, realistic and level headed about things in her life."

"Like me huh? I don't know if I am all of those things, but let's see what we can find for such a level headed woman then," Carolina blinked back with a thankful smile for all the compliments she was indirectly showered with. She picked out a few clothes based on her own personal tastes and ran them by Madison. Just as quickly she showed them to him, they were rejected.

In the end, all of the gift ideas were rejected. _Agh this sure is harder than I thought it would be_ , Carolina pondered hanging back all the clothes. She approached the family man with a question she felt silly for not asking at the very beginning. "What does your daughter like, what is she into?"

"She likes most things, but if I had to say what she liked the most, it would be electronics I guess. She is really into holographic technology."

 _That's it!_ Epsilon shouted in Carolina's head causing her a slight migraine. _Sorry sis, but I just had an idea. Why not go visit all the electronic shops with the holographic projectors in inventory?_ Carolina pondered the suggestion and ran it by Madison. "Sounds good to me, let's go. If I remember right, the electronics shops are on the second floor."

* * *

Entering one such appealing electronic shop, Madison and Carolina took a look around at the various holographic projectors. She studied the different variations and their price tags. _Do they sell everything at a surplus here?!_ Carolina was bewildered that people would be willing to buy products in this mall at the price tag they are sold at. Madison rubbed his chin in deep contemplation and tapped her shoulder. "So, what do these exactly do?"

"Come on Madison, surely you can't be serious."

"No really, what do they do?"

"Really?" Carolina was even further bewildered at Madison's question. "You use these at work all the time. They can take anything from a computer and basically project it in our physical space as a digital interactive image. So let's say if you had a picture of an apple on your computer screen right now, the projector will project the apple in 3D without the need for any special glasses or anything. It's more or less making the digital space feel more organic with our physical space."

"Oh wow, technology sure has come a long way," he began to talk like an old man feeling his age. "When I was your age, we didn't have such fancy projectors. Ours were more reliant on glasses to make the image seem 'real'."

He leaned down to look at the one Carolina was studying. "So this little box is that high tech eh?"

Carolina let out a small giggle as she waved her hand back and forth. "If you think this one is high tech, then you should see the more advanced variations out there. But they will be more costly for your budget."

"I am sure she will be happy even with the basic one though. She has always had a keen mind to make improvements to electronics all on her own," Madison stated with a proud smile, but a sense of longing shined in his eyes. "She has always been a bit of a tinkerer since birth."

"Your family sounds fun."

"They are, they mean the world to me. How about you?"

"What about me?"

"What was your childhood like?" the elder man inquired deeply interested in this mysterious woman's past. Even though they have been working together for a while and have become quite good friends, he still had yet to know anything about her past. Carolina remained quiet gripping her one arm with the other hand. Madison suddenly felt as though he stepped over a line he shouldn't have. Carolina's face became sullen recalling what little she could. "I don't remember much about my childhood. My mother, she was in the army so she was away most of the time. My father was always wrapped up in his work, so much so that he barely had any time for me."

"But, what about now? Surely they must be proud to see the person you have grown into."

"Perhaps they might have been," Carolina responded and lowered her head in regret as she stared at her hands. Madison felt a stronger sting travel through his heart. _I really did step onto a minefield didn't I?_ He leaned down to match her eyes. "W- What do you mean?"

"Both my parents are dead. My mother died when I was just a child. My father passed away recently I suppose. I can't exactly say I have had an ideal childhood, unlike your daughter. I am sure she is happy to have had such a caring family."

Madison stood back up feeling sullen himself, and he quickly apologized. "Sorry for bringing up such a bad topic."

"No, it's quite alright. I have learned to make my peace with it. It is what it is."

At the very end, the two decided on a decent holographic projector still within his budget. The two exited the store and Carolina asked. "It's for your daughter, but what is the occasion?"

Madison stopped on the first floor by the fountain they met up at. He looked down at the bag with a slightly sullen look and answered. "It's for her upcoming birthday."

"Oh, then wish her the best on my behalf," Carolina did her best to remain perky to keep the mood from falling any more. "Be sure to sneak out some cake for me!"

"No promises," Madison smiled back, although the smile itself seemed distant and sad. He turned around with one final wave and exited the mall. Carolina sat at the edge of the fountain and stretched her back. _Shopping really can be tiring, man. But his daughter is lucky to have a caring father_.

* * *

Carolina leaned back balancing herself on the fountain's concrete bowl. She closed her eyes and recalled the moments of the morning. The many events that transpired filling the morning with joy and at the same time some sadness. _Now that I think about it, Madison sounded a little sad whenever he talked about his family. I wonder why that is. He always seems happy to be talking about his family, but I wonder what gave today?_

Carolina took out her cellphone and looked up Madison's number. Bringing up her messaging app, she quickly typed a considerate and meaningful offer to him. 'Hey Madison, it seemed like you were a little down. Should you find that something is bothering you, then don't hesitate to talk about it with me!'

She quickly received a reply of thanks, and that he was alright. But in a quick act she replied saying that the offer will always remain open should he ever feel like talking. Madison smiled and again thanked her. _She really is considerate, just like my little girl…like my little girl_.

* * *

Carolina unlocked the door to her apartment and stepped inside with a relieved sigh. "Time for a drink."

"You will ruin your lunch if you do that," Epsilon commented as he pixilated into plain view on the holographic display. Carolina brushed of his comment. "Once in a while is fine. Plus it will make my lunch feel even more fulfilling."

"Jeez, you really are spoiled."

"Spoiled Carolina, that's me!" she took out a can and shook it vigorously. _The fizzling bubbles are the best part of opening a beer can!_ Carolina then stopped upon hearing the intrusive noises from her military radio communicator. She walked into her room and turned on the communication line. "This is Agent Carolina, go ahead."

"Agent," the stern yet annoying voice of her C.O. caused her to become irritable. _Great, him again_. She rested the can beside the radio and patiently heard her C.O. explain the situation. "This is about the investigation report we opened up from your last mission. The person you were sent to target in your last mission was apparently a member of a very dangerous organization. This organization seems to be operating subtly through the various cities on Earth. Based on the little information regarding their activities, we could also make some educated guesses that they were operational in various human space colonies as well."

"Were?"

"Yes," the C.O. replied in agitation. He did not appreciate being interrupted one bit. "Those are just mere speculation. But since the UNSC has dominion over the space colonies, based on the documentation, we were able to suppress and eliminate their threat. But Earth is a different story. The individual governments don't like the idea of relying on the UNSC and so most have taken action already. But there are some who have remained stuck in a limbo, and United States is one of them."

Carolina remained quiet as she set the can aside. The information had grabbed her complete interest. It was a puzzle just begging to be solved. It was a new conflict subtly growing under the veil of 'normal' in their everyday life. "So then whenever I hear about trucks and buildings being targeted, this same organization could be involved."

"That is a possibility, and a strong one we believe. I don't know if you have noticed or not, but their targets have all been related to buildings or trucks concerning space travel and agencies. Man, what a weird bunch they are," the C.O. slammed his fist on the other end in anger. "If only the government wouldn't be so damn childish about this, we could step in and resolve this quickly with our resources. But enough of that, we have your next target picked out."

"Why not let me handle this investigation for now?"

"This target is related to your investigation. We think that this individual is a part of the organization I spoke of," the C.O. sent an image her way. "If you can detain him for questioning, I am sure our investigation will go much smoothly."

"Understood, I will commence this mission tonight under the cover of darkness. Anything else sir?"

"No, that is all. Dismissed Agent," the C.O. announced leaving Carolina to quickly shut off the radio and let out a tense sigh. "So much for drinking. Church, can you hear me?"

"Sure can sis."

"Be ready by 2100, we will be commencing our mission at that time. I am also transferring all the data we received about the target to your memory storage."

"Got it, let's make this a hunt to remember."

Carolina looked out towards the living room where Epsilon resided with a smile and nodded her head. _Yes, let us go on a hunt_.

* * *

 **A/N: Brace yourselves, for there is plot to come ;).**

 **Hope you all enjoyed that chapter and look forward to the next one.**

 **~ Monty**


	14. The Silencer

**Chapter 13: The Silencer**

Carolina overlooked the city from a high vantage point under the beaming moonlight. Epsilon appeared besides her formulating a route and highlighted the various pathways to take. She licked her lips in boiling excitement. _Let us go on a hunt_. Epsilon looked from her to the city and agreed. Both felt their synapses revving and hunter's instincts taking over. She stood up straight to the edge of the rooftop. "Ready Church?"

"Yeah, let's go find a squealer."

She jumped forward into the air, far away from the safe confines of the floor. Like a free bird she flew in the air with the aid of her jets. Coming down hard onto the opposite rooftop, she felt her body shake from the impact. But at the same time it sent another rush of euphoria through her mind. It had been quite a while and unbeknownst to her, her body had been yearning for these sensations of a soldier all this time. Carolina followed the route displayed on her HUD as it highlighted her path in green. She jumped from one building to the next and repeated the cycle until she finally reached her target. Taking out a pair of binoculars, she surveyed her battleground. _They are pretty tight on security. There are too many numbers for me to handle alone. Getting into a rumble here would be bad news. I will have to take this quietly_.

"Agreed," Epsilon appeared beside her and prepared the necessary power diversions to her camouflage unit. "Land down near the side of the compound unnoticed. Once you do, I will activate our camouflage and let you take the steering wheel for the rest of the trip."

"Got it," Carolina jumped down to the marked area as quietly as possible. She studied her surrounding area. No one was alerted to her presence. _Good, Church, hit me up_. Church was quick to activate the camouflage unit. _It's all yours now sis. Remember to take it nice and slow_. Carolina moved past many by hiding in bushes or behind cover. Occasionally she was forced to take the risk of moving out in the open, but in large crowds. Though she managed to fool those around her, she also managed to become completely clueless as to where her target's location is. _Church, did HQ not send the exact coordinates for his meeting?_

 _Give me a sec here_ , Epsilon verified the contents of the data that was sent over. _No, nothing here. Sorry sis but you are on your own with this one, can't rely on HQ_. Carolina gritted her teeth and began searching for clues. As luck would have it, she overheard two soldiers discussing amongst themselves something of great interest. "Man, why did they have to pick this heap of shit location to meet of all places? And they chose to do it on a chilly night like tonight."

"Do you ever quit your bitching?"

"Yeah, but only when I am able to let my feet up comfortably in a heated room."

"Psh, if the boss heard you say that he would hang you up by your balls in the base to let you have all that heat to yourself."

"Oi, don't joke about that! I still remember what happened to Charlie last month. He hasn't been able to recover from it, I doubt he ever will."

"The boss is a scary SOB, so make sure to behave," the guard spoke to his friend. Carolina trailed them in the darkness. _The boss, could this be my target?_ She moved from one bush to the other as soon as she had placed an adequate distance between themselves. She stopped to observe the two soldiers entering what looked like ruined buildings. From within the building, she could overhear several voices. Epsilon appeared beside her. "Get a closer look."

"Right, for now go into sleep mode."

"Right, right, you go it."

Her armor turned back to its normal color. She stepped out and ran towards the building. Resting her back against the wall, she looked up and decided to climb. Following the strength of the voices, she deduced that her targets were at the top floor. Carolina looked to her left to find more ruined buildings in plain sight. The rooftops of such buildings led to a populated street. _That could make for a good escape route_. Carolina finally reached the top and watched a deal playing out through the broken roof.

* * *

Four individuals stood in a room filled with cracked walls, and broken furniture all around. On one side stood a lone man with a briefcase in his right hand, and on the other side stood three men. The one in the middle was her target, and this man was certainly not a fan of athletics as evidenced by his plump figure. He wore a black suit fitting a business man, and his balding head did little to hide his age. Beside the target were two body guards, all dressed in a black suit and black gloves. Carolina could already sense that the bodyguards were dangerous. Compared to the army the target has outside the building, these two guards alone seemed more of a terrifying foe.

"Do you have it?" the lone man asked as he eyed their long and thick briefcase. The target motioned for one of his bodyguards to display the product to their client. "State of the yard, long range high caliber energy based sniper rifle. You won't find this in the markets anywhere."

"Yes, thanks to those bastard Government legislators, we are forced to buy these at a premium now."

"Whatever could you be talking about?" the target grasped his hands together and smiled through his teeth. "I am simply a business man exploiting an opportunity for the benefit of my organization."

"Hmph, it checks out," the client stood up and opened the briefcase of money. The target wore a rather amused expression. "Physical money in this day and age?"

"It's safer than a digital transaction that leaves footprints behind every step of the way."

The target handed a bill to one of his bodyguards who studied it carefully under a magnifying glass. The guard handed it back to the target and nodded. The businessman smiled and shook the client's hand wishing him the best in the usage of their newly acquired product. "I hope to do business with you again soon."

* * *

The client quickly left the building. The three in the room tidied up the briefcase and the target trusted one of his bodyguards to get it delivered. Though before dismissing the two, he looked up towards the ceiling and with a courteous smile he declared. "Would our little intruder please show themselves?"

 _How?!_ Carolina pondered. She stood up causing the bodyguards to draw their sub-machine guns. "How did you know that I was here?"

The target pointed to his eyes for Carolina to take a closer look. She was surprised to find someone with two prosthetic eyes with thermal detection enhancements. "Still, you are coming with me!"

"I don't think you understand your situation," the man scoffed as he pointed to his two bodyguards. "We have the big guns here girl. Give up and come down so that we can rectify your bad behavior."

"I have dealt with worse."

"Cute," the businessman was amused. "Such bravado can only get you so far. It's three on one."

"Three?"

"Yes," he drew out a small energy pistol and aimed for Carolina's head. "Like I said, three on one."

 _Thud!_

The target looked to his right. His body guard fell to the ground holding his throat covered in blood.

 _Thud!_

The target looked to his left. His body guard fell to the ground holding his throat covered in blood. The target felt a tremble course through his body. "W- What is this? How many of you are there?!"

But before the target could talk any further, he was quickly silenced with a blade piercing the back of his throat all the way through. Carolina held in the urge to gag at the horrible sight. Blood sprayed out from the target's throat as he tried to stop it. Gripping both his hands around his throat, he fell to the ground. The last of his air, and will power left him leaving him to succumb to death.

 _No!_ Carolina gritted her teeth at the new intruder. From the figure she could make it out to be a male wearing several pieces of armor underneath a black trench coat. The blade that did the deed retracted into wrist holsters. From what Carolina could tell, those blades extended and retracted automatically. He flexed his fingers underneath the black leather gloves and let out a yawn. In a rather arrogant tone, the young man spoke. "They always die so easily, why is it that none of them ever put up a resistance?"

"Who are you?!" Carolina infuriated with the events lashed out against the young man. He looked up, although most of his face was covered by a hood. He waved towards her a small apology. "Sorry for dropping in unannounced, but all is fair game on the hunt!"

"Why are you talking to me as if I am supposed to know you?"

"All of that will be made clear sooner or later," the man replied as he jumped up towards the opening on the roof. _I will go straight from here, yeah that will do_. He waved back on last time and jumped from building to building. Carolina leaped after him. _Yeah right, as if I will let you get away so easily_. He was quick to notice the pest behind him. _Quite the dedicated one aren't you?_ He wall ran to get over a few obstacles along the way. When he had no choice, he slid on the ground underneath objects or jumped over them.

Carolina managed to chase him down all the way to the very last ruined building. But just before she could grab hold of him, he jumped down into the crowded street below. Carolina gritted her teeth and pulled herself back from nearly falling. Epsilon appeared over the edge and studied the crowd. The assailant was nowhere to be seen. "Crazy bastard…"

She poked her head over from the edge and punched the concrete. "Damn it!"

* * *

In a bout of anger she kicked a nearby pile of rubble causing it to scatter and alerted those down below. Epsilon quickly activated her camouflage unit. "Keep it down will you sis? We don't need a whole army on our ass."

With a huff and a puff she slowly calmed down. Epsilon began formulating their next step. "We need to get in contact with HQ. They will need to know what happened here."

"I know that!" Carolina looked for a safe way down. As luck would have it, a guard was passing by down below and acted as the perfect cushion for her fall. Exiting the premise, Carolina looked back one last time to ensure she wasn't being followed, and quickly made her way back home.

* * *

Carolina unzipped her suit that snuggled her body underneath the armor and threw it to the side. The frustration was still strong. _Ever since my encounter with my previous target, it's been one failure after another. For fuck's sake, please let something go right for once!_ She hunched down by the radio and gripped her head in disappointment.

"Identify yourself please," the communicator over the radio gave the cue for Carolina to face her failure. "This is Agent Carolina of the UNSC. Special Agent ID number is D233564850, requesting permission to speak to the C.O. currently present."

"One moment please Agent," the woman answered as she transferred lines to the C.O.'s office who picked up his phone. "Hello Agent Carolina. I trust that there is some good news from your mission."

She remained quiet. It was enough to get him to sigh in disappointment. "This was not what I had expected of you when we chose to give you this special treatment and this deal with us Agent. Your failure this time is too great to overlook."

"Allow me to explain sir," she bit her lower lip. _Time to kiss the C.O.'s ass I guess_. The man waited patiently for her to continue. "There was an unaccounted variable on the scene. It was an assassin that interfered leading to the death of the target. Before I could catch the assassin, he fled into the crowded streets and I lost sight of him."

"Why are you here then? Did you not deem it necessary to spend the rest of the night hunting him down?"

"But sir-"

"Fine, we will overlook it this time seeing as how this assassin seems to be involved in this whole thing as well one way or another. They will be marked as a target. I will transfer lines to one of the other soldiers, describe all that you can about the assassin to them."

"Yes sir," Carolina answered with a breath of relief. But at the same time she slammed her fist on the table as the C.O. transferred lines. _Pompous jerk_. After transferring lines and explaining to the soldier about whatever description she could recall in detail, she was assured that they will add it in as a note and that this will be looked into. They canceled the call leaving her to sneer at the radio. "God damn internal rules and politics. If I could do this just on my own, then maybe it wouldn't take so long."

"And how would you gather the intelligence that they are able to?" Epsilon questioned upon seeing her tantrum. Carolina laid back down onto the ground and closed shut her eyes. "Hell if I know."

"Exactly, you need them as much as they need you."

"I need them huh? That's only if I continue to serve under a contract for them, and remain a soldier."

"True, true," Epsilon noted with a hint of concern at the way she spoke those last few words. "Sis, are you alright?"

"Yeah, just dandy," she stood up and jumped into her bed. "Let me sleep, tomorrow is another work day after all."

"Right, good night."

"'night."

* * *

 **A/N: So after quite a while, I have some plot for you all! :), even if somewhat cryptic.**

 **I hope you enjoyed that chapter and look forward to the next one!**

 **Thank you for your time and readership. Catch you all next time!**

 **~ Monty**


	15. Letting Them Go

**Chapter 14: Letting Them Go**

The doors to her local convenience store slid closed behind her. The evening breeze was beginning to settle amidst a vermillion tinted sky. The golden hour of today was even more beautiful than yesterday. Carolina without a thought to look up, strode along to her apartment. In her hand was a newly bought pack of beer. Epsilon looked at her with concern as pixels joined in his body on the holographic display. "Don't you have several cans from the previous pack still?"

"I will do what I want to."

"Is this because of what happened last night?" and she froze at his question. _Bingo_ , thought Epsilon as he caught her cracking open a can and slamming it onto the floor. "That's none of your business."

"Drinking like an alcoholic won't change what happened."

"I know!"

"Then why the beer?"

She remained quiet at the growingly irritable questions. Epsilon crossed his arms and shook his head. "Just go easy."

Without a care for his warning, she gulped down the whole can in one go. She stared out the glass door window at the floating clouds. They looked so free, just flying up in the sky without a care for what happens to others around them. _The clouds live a simple life. Come into existence, fly in the sky and eventually dissipate. So why can't humans be simple?_ Carolina threw the empty can to the side and took out another one.

Some time passed, and she was already on her last can. Her cheeks flustered, and her balance was questionable at best. Her mind was in a haze, shrouded by confusion, doubt and uncertainty. She was afraid as her failure stared her in the face. It gazed upon her miniscule existence exercising such fear over her. _Why did things have to go wrong like this? I could have had him. I could have finally done something, but instead I failed. I failed to take one step closer against that bastard organization_. Carolina gritted her teeth as she crushed the empty can in her hand. _Most of all, I feel like I have failed to change. Even though I have met so many people, done so many things on this journey, I don't feel one bit enlightened. I don't feel as if I have changed at all. I am a failure_.

She threw the can to the side and tried to stand up. _There should be more beer in the fridge. Yeah, more beer is what I need_. But as expected, in her drunken state she fell back down with a loud thud. Epsilon shook his head in disapproval. _I tried to warn you sis. You really are taking this hard aren't you? If only I could do something, if only I had the power to do something_. Epsilon to felt helpless and frustrated at his own inability to help her, he knew that if it was the old Church then he would have been able to snap Carolina out of this situation in a matter of seconds. But he was not the old Church. He didn't know what to do. Suddenly an idea struck him like a raging bull. He eyed Carolina who was struggling to get back up, but eventually she gave up and lay there on the cool floor. _Sorry sis_.

* * *

"I didn't think you would be one to give up so quickly Carolina," she heard York's voice echo in her mind. No, it felt more real than that. She looked around the room to find the yellow Freelancer sitting on the couch. Beside him were the other Freelancers. Carolina began to struggle in keeping her emotions in check. "All of you are here, how?"

A smile as wide as her lips would allow appeared on her face. She was happy to see them again. But this was illogical. The dead do not come back to life. York removed his helmet as did a few other Freelancer Agents. They all looked down at her with sympathetic and comforting smiles. "We were never really dead."

"Y- You weren't?" she asked of North. South intervened by pointing a finger towards the red head. "Yeah, because a certain someone won't let us die in peace! I mean how can we with all those regrets you have about us?"

"That is true, she does carry loads," CT interjected. York nodded his head to each one of them. "Yeah, it is quite worrisome. So how could we even think to leave you alone then? Not to mention, the regrets you carry from your recent happenings. It only keeps on piling up."

"Why can't you let go of it all Carolina?" Tex questioned from behind the group. Her voice was enough to leave a scarring impression of how serious Tex was. The mood went from a joyous reunion to uncertainty in Carolina's mind. Carolina looked down from the group and lowered her head in shame. "Why can't I let go? I wonder about that myself. These regrets are a part of my memories and a part of who I am. It is because of these regrets that I am here right now at the point I am at in life. How can I let go of something that is so deeply imbedded to my very being? Plus, wouldn't letting go mean letting go of all of you?!"

York was saddened to hear these words. "Carolina, you are destroying yourself like this. Your guilt will only get heavier on you until you could no longer handle it."

"That's not the case," she whispered averting her gaze from the group. Denial, an action she was so familiar with. York let out a saddened sigh. "Your denial is all the more proof for what I say."

"You are wrong…," Carolina did her best to hide her face. It felt like she could become a mess of emotions any time now. But York wasn't going to let her continue down this self-destructive path of failure, guilt and regret. "You need to let go Carolina!"

"Let go?" Carolina gritted her teeth. She clenched her fists and gazed upwards in anger. "And how am I supposed to do that?! Why don't you tell me how to do it?! Words alone are just hypocritical! If you can't do something yourself then don't tell others to do it! How can I let go of these regrets when some of those regrets reside in the memories of my family?!"

The whole room went quiet. Carolina dug her face onto the floor as tears began to stream down her cheeks. "Tell me, how can I let go of you all when all of you are so precious to me? How can I even imagine abandoning you all so easily? There is no way I could do something so horrid."

York stood up from the group and slowly approached her. He rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, Carolina's eyes widened at the touch. It felt so real, too real for her liking. She began to question whether they were just her imagination or not. York did his best to smile for her, but she knew that her words made an impact on him and even he didn't completely want for her to abandon them. But he considered his words carefully. "Carolina, it is not your family that you are abandoning. It is the guilt that you held onto all this time so wrongfully that we want for you to abandon, to let it all go."

"But if I had listened to what you had to say York," she again began to cry, but did her best to hold back the tears. "All of you may have been still alive today. The gang may have been together still, laughing and arguing like before."

"That's a possibility," York nodded his head in contemplation. "But then you would not have met your new family and that is a set of events to be appreciative for."

"I am thankful to them for accepting me as I am, a broken woman," Carolina covered her eyes with her hands. She felt shameful to let others see this side of her. "But how am I supposed to escape this guilt and regrets? I feel like I am constantly going in a cycle trying to find a way out of this loop."

York began to stroke her head. He spoke with the smile she cherished so deeply. "To abandon your guilt is to move on. To do that, you need to free your mind from these worries and negative thoughts. Live your life in the present appreciating all that you have right now. Be thankful for all the encounters and yearn for new ones. Brighten the day for others with positivity and surely it will come back to you. Fill your heart with love, and positive emotions."

"With love?" she looked up to find York's face shining so brightly in her eyes. It shone like the hope she had been subconsciously searching for. He nodded his head and stood back up. He walked back to the gang and sat back down. "We will always be there with you for our love is always with you."

Slowly, one by one they began to disappear. This caused a panic in Carolina as she tried to speak out against it. But no words would come to life. Her mind was frozen with the time all around her. York was the only one left. She began to shed new tears. She wanted to beg for him to stay in her life. With a wave, he too was gone. The room was silent again.

* * *

She felt empty, but at the same time strangely satisfied at the words exchanged. She lay back down and stared at the can to her left. She picked up the can and threw it into the nearby bin. Her head ached as it felt it was splitting apart. She covered her eyes as they slowly dropped close. "That was some trip I went on."

Upon hearing the clock on the table, she saw the time and stood up. She stretched her back, but her vision was still blurry and her balance was woozy at best. _He was right. They were right all along. Church taught me this in the past as well but being the stubborn human I can be, I didn't want to accept it perhaps_. Carolina stretched her neck from side to side and heard a satisfying crack. _Maybe I just wanted to run from reality in the hopes of finding my own ideal world. Maybe I just wanted to avoid facing part of the truth about myself_. Carolina rested her forehead against the glass window of the balcony door. "I need to let my regrets about them go."

She stared at her own fuzzy reflection with her resolve growing stronger. _This journey is the reason I came here. I want to change even more_. She stumbled back into her couch and stared up at the ceiling with a contented smile. "I made a vow to smile more and live in the present. I have a duty to hold up that vow, so I better stop slacking no matter the cost."

Epsilon stared at his partner happy with the results. It was a first for him, but even he didn't realize the level of control the neural implants gave him over Carolina's senses. In times like these, he was glad that he was an AI. Carolina closed her eyes and let herself sink into the couch. "I…I am going to throw away my guilt alongside my hatred. I will grow stronger."

* * *

 **A/N: So with this, let's just say Carolina opens new doors for herself and to a certain degree, she reaches a point of catharsis :).**

 **I realize Carolina isn't the type of individual to openly cry as it may weaken her strong soldier woman image, but she is only human as well. For any person to change, there must be hardships involved for such struggles are the driving fuel for change.**

 **I hope you enjoyed that chapter and found it at least somewhat emotional. Now, let us move even further forward with the world building and plot!**

 **Catch you all next time.**

 **~ Monty**


	16. A Chance Meeting

**Chapter 15: A Chance Meeting**

Carolina looked at the bustling city down below. It was yet another active night both for her and the city. She studied the map on her HUD and eyed the route to her target. _HQ managed to get another one pretty quick in comparison to last time. Maybe they are starting to take this seriously now_. She stood up and stretched her legs. Church appeared beside her and pointed in the way they needed to go. "Let's make sure to get there as soon as possible and nab this one. We don't want any surprises like last time."

"Right," she jumped off from the building and onto the opposite rooftop. As she jumped through the air, she could only imagine what the air would feel like against her dancing hair. Church took this opportunity to get a few things out of the way with her. "Hey sis, I have been wondering. Why are you so interested in figuring this thing out, why not just let the government handle it?"

"You are kidding right? The government isn't going to do anything at this rate," she berated the suggestion. "You know that, you have listened to our previous conversations at work and with the UNSC. Politics are a nasty thing, at this rate they will just end up biting their own tail off."

"That still doesn't answer why you want to do this."

"If I have the power to make a difference, then the least I can do is make it happen," she lowered her head as if to pay her respects. "Even if the living may not appreciate it, at least those affected by these tragic events can rest easy."

She landed firmly across from the building she needed to infiltrate and took out her binoculars. "I also owe the people of this city for granting me so many wonderful experiences. To turn my back on them now would be nothing but cowardly of me. I can change things for the better, I know it."

She scanned the building, and Epsilon took the data to construct a map layout alongside general enemy placements. Carolina sat down to study the enemy movements and planned out a general tactic for handling them. _I will need to do this quietly, or else he may become alert. In that case going in from the roof maybe the better idea_. She looked at the map data and calculated the distance from the roof to the target's office. "Church, is there any way for me to get down from the roof to the office without using the stair case?"

"You could always fly I guess," he joked, yet there was complete silence in reaction. Church looked around and even the city became quiet at the terrible joke. "Man tough crowd."

"How about some serious suggestions?"

"If we can find a good point, you can always repel down and enter his office through the glass window. But won't he see us coming that way?"

"Probably, but if we play our cards right, then this is possible," Carolina brought up the list of modules and suddenly eyed a recently acquired good. "Get ready, we are commencing mission."

"Roger."

She landed on the target building rooftop safely and stealthily. Adjusting her force on the floor, to minimize the footstep noises, she moved slowly towards the edge of the roof. In a quiet whisper she asked of her partner in crime. "Do you think this spot will do?"

Church studied the railings and agreed. "But how do you plan to go down unnoticed?"

"It will be a one-time use but remember that invisibility cloak we got as part of the mission equipment selection?" She asked and Church nodded. "We will go with that. I want you to keep an eye on the power level for the unit as we descend. Also prepare the glass cutting tools with adequate power levels. Let's do this nice and clean."

* * *

Going down the window slowly, she did her best to remain as quiet as possible. While she did attract some attention because of the rope, it was nothing the guards fretted over. She quickly reached the targeted office and took out the glass cutter. She made a clean hole when the target wasn't looking and landed safely into the office. In quick response, the target turned around with his pistol drawn. He took note of the hole and slowly moved towards it. His heart beat began to run wild with anxiety. "Who's there?"

Carolina jumped him from the back just as soon as her invisibility unit ran dry. She ducked under his wide swing and bent his elbow against his will prompting him to release his weapon. Carolina kicked him in the crotch which sent him down onto the ground and forced away his gun. She drew her pistol and rested the barrel against his head. She held up a finger against her helmet's mouth piece and a restless finger on the trigger. It sent a clear message to the target. "Here is how this will work, I ask the questions and you give a simple answer. If you try to dodge the question, you get busted nose. If you don't answer, you get a broken finger. Call out for help, and you win the grand prize of them all, a bullet to the forehead. Understood?"

The target nodded his head prompting Carolina to pat him. "Good man, now tell me, you wouldn't happen to be related to any terrorist organizations would you? This organization has been notorious for targeting supply trucks and space centers."

The target looked at the gun barrel, but gritted his teeth to affirm his position of silence. Carolina let out a restless sigh and stored away her gun. She held up his one finger and placed her other hand over his mouth. "You guys always make this so difficult. Just talk and you can go home happy. But I guess this is also a somewhat interesting aspect of my job."

Slowly twisting his finger around, she took his pinky and bent it ninety degrees backwards. His eyes became bloodshot with pain. He moaned and growled behind her palm. His struggle began to irritate her. She held up another finger as leverage and a threat. "If you don't shut up and get answering, your other finger may have the same problem."

Hearing a few muffled words, she slowly removed her palm to allow the man some breathing room. "I- I will talk. Just don't hurt me anymore, please."

He took in a deep breath recovering from the pain. "I- I belong to a large terrorist organization. It engages in the activities you mentioned."

 _Bingo_ , she pondered now holding her free hand over the hostage finger. "What is this organization called?"

"We are called the 'Cradle of Hope'."

 _Sounds pretentious already_ , Carolina pondered studying her target's eyes. But he seemed serious about the answer. There was no wavering in his confidence as he answered her question. "Then tell me, what does this organization plan to do exactly?"

"We plan to do what should have been done ages ago. We are the protectors of the cosmos."

"Protectors you say? More like deviants looking to disturb established order."

"To an ignorant mind like yours, it would seem to be the case," the man replied snarky only to quickly cower in fear as she again threatened his finger. "We will bring back humanity to its true cradle."

"Speak in clear language you little…," she again applied more pressure, this time he could feel the bone stretching and struggling to survive the breakage. "What I mean is to bring humans from all over the universe back to Earth. We also want to keep people from leaving!"

* * *

"And why would you want to do th-," Carolina looked towards the door as they heard combat noises outside. Many gunshots went off only to go completely silent the next moment. There were no more noises. _What is going on?_ Carolina told the target to remain quiet and in his spot. She stood up and drew her pistol. As she neared the door, it suddenly burst open and caused her to jump in surprise. As she was about to shoot, she was disarmed by the new entrant who took the liberty of dismantling and destroying the pistol.

She got a good look at the man in front of her. Judging from the clothes, it was the same man she encountered at her previous target. "You…"

"My, my, what a small world we live in," the man replied with a smile. "No hard feelings about the last time yeah?"

"Oi, just what is going on here?! Is he with you?!" the target demanded upon seeing his two bodyguards at the door on the floor and completely out of it. "Guards! Guards!"

"Don't bother," the assassin dulled the screams for help with a clarification. "I took care of everyone in this building that posed a threat. Namely speaking, all of your henchmen are busy taking naps right now. So no one will be coming to help you."

"Gah, impossible…how can you, one man handle so many guards?!" the target felt as if he was about to wet himself right this very moment. Even Carolina was astonished at such a feat. _Even for me that would be impossible to do in such a small time frame. Is he human or a monster?_ The assassin stepped away from her and began to walk towards the target. "If you put your mind to it, I guess anything is possible or some other inspirational crap like that."

The target ran for his desk where he hid a backup pistol. But before he could do anything, the assassin drew out a laser pistol from his trench coat and shot the target clean in the legs. The criminal screamed out in agony as he saw the holes in his legs with blood shot eyes. "Fuck man! Don't think you can get away with this!"

Carolina ran for the assassin as he reached the target. She jumped for him but was bounced back by the bubble shield unit placed between the target and the assassin. The young assassin looked towards her with a playful smile. "Wait there like a good soldier would you, Ms. UNSC?"

He bent down towards the target and brandished the pistol around the target's legs. "So Mr. Target, I have a very important question for you that I would appreciate you answering. If you answer, you can escape with just those two holes. If you fail to comply then I give you more holes. Worst case scenario, you die. Are we clear?"

"Crystal!"

"Good man, so let's see if you are actually competent or not. Give me the names of the high ranking individuals in the terrorist organization you belong to."

The target remained quiet. He looked from side to side and fidgeted in one spot. The assassin shook his head telling the man that he was only making this difficult. "Are you afraid of telling me because of what might happen to you?"

"I can't answer any questions about the organization to you! They will kill me if I do!"

"Come now, surely you don't mean to say that death is a more attractive offer now do you?" the assassin crawled the gun up from the leg to the target's neck. The target remained quiet for yet another few minutes. With a sigh the assassin stood up, and without a second thought he pulled the trigger making a clean shot through the target's brain. Blood splattered out the window as the bullet shot right through it. "What a waste of my precious time. If you don't want to answer at all then just say so at the start for crying out loud."

* * *

"You bastard! That was my only lead!" Carolina screamed in anger, but quickly prompted to calm down as she raised her fists. _The moment you come out, I will apprehend you and get every little bit of information from you. I can't let you go after what you did_. Carolina however looked at the happenings within the shield rather confused. _What is he doing?_

The assassin held up a canister, no it was a grenade! Carolina backed off but stood at a loss for words when she saw the assassin activate it and drop it to the ground with the shield still up. _Does he want to kill himself?_ But that wasn't the case at all. The grenade was a smoke grenade! Smoke enveloped the whole area within the field and soon spread throughout the room just as the field disappeared.

With the smoke covering the whole room, the assassin made his speedy escape. But this time Carolina was determined to not lose sight of him. She gave chase up to the rooftop and began to follow him from various rooftops to rooftops. Unlike the last time, she held her own against his various parkouring tricks. She chased him down until he finally stopped to catch his breath. "Stop right now, stop running!"

"Quite the persistent one aren't you?" the assassin asked gazing back towards her. Carolina placed a hand on her hip and struck a confident pose. "Thanks, it's one of my good points."

"That's questionable," he whispered much to her irritation. "But since you are so interested in me, maybe you will be interested in the organization I belong to as well. We know you are investigating for the UNSC into the terrorist organization simply known through its nickname as 'Cradle of Hope'."

"What about it?"

"You should get a taste of what reality really is like. Knowledge differs from experience after all. Experience is the real thing that gives you the motivation and a reason. In our case, it will give us a reason to survive and fight. I wonder if the same will hold true for you."

"Stop dodging the subject and spit it out already!"

"Tomorrow, at 6:00 PM, go to Mayfair Street. There will be something interesting happening near Hailey's Café. If you are patient enough, you should encounter this event no problem. It will help unfold the blindfold around your eyes. You know some things about the terrorist organization, but what you really need to know is still missing."

"And what's that?"

"That would be telling and completely disqualify the need for experience. Just go there and see for yourself. Think for yourself and deduce your answers from it," the assassin threw down another smoke screen causing Carolina to activate her thermal sensors and chase him through the smoke. He was soon gone, having jumped down a slope on the building. Carolina peered over the edge and clenched her hands in anger. She gritted her teeth and sat down with her head in her hands. "Yet another opportunity gone."

 _Mayfair street...I guess I will ask them to a drink tomorrow_. Carolina sat back and stared at the bright moon. Epsilon appeared beside her and made sure to log their conversation into the data banks as well as create a copy for the UNSC. "Let's hope that guy was telling the truth."

"Me too," she whispered gently closing her eyes and feeling the night fatigue catch onto her.

"Oi, sis, don't sleep out here. You will catch a cold."

"Meh, I know," she lazily got back up and began to jump her way home and straight into her comfy bed.

* * *

 **A/N: And thus the plot and mystery thickens!**

 **Hope you are all enjoying this so far and look forward to the next chapter!**

 **Catch you all next time!**

 **~ Monty**


	17. A Harsh Reality

**Chapter 16: A Harsh Reality**

Carolina closed her work locker for the day and let her hair down. The day was over and the night festivities were just beginning. She zipped up her jacked and watched some fog escape her mouth. _It really has been getting cooler around here lately. Who knows, it may snow soon_. She watched Madison talking with a few co-workers and she approached them with a welcoming smile. "Anyone up for a drink tonight?"

They all looked her way with their mouths dropped open. One of the women leaned in close as she shook Carolina. "A- Are you okay Carolina? Do you have a fever or something?"

"No, why?"

"You never suggest these types of things," another co-worker professed while imagining certain situations in his head. "Who are you and what have you done with Carolina?!"

"Calm down will you all?" Carolina lowered her head with a sigh. "Even I want to sometimes let loose and go do these things. It's nothing to get so worked up over."

"Y- Yeah, you are right," another spoke up and took her up on her offer. Soon the whole gang followed them to their local bar and made themselves comfortable. Madison looked around the table and turned to Carolina. "But I gotta say, even I was surprised to hear the invitation from you."

"It's not that big of a deal Madison," she answered with a smile. Carolina picked up her mug of beer and chugged it all down sending a shiver down the men's spine. A formidable foe has appeared! They all pondered and not wanting to be outdone, they all took up their drinks and chugged them down. Much to the amusement of the women, some men were already out of the ring from just one chug.

* * *

"Tag in, tag in!" one of the male co-workers comically shouted as his stomach and throat ached. One of the juniors from work clapped the worker's hand and promised. "I will get them for you, don't you worry. I have faith in my drinking powers!"

 _Drinking powers? The hell is up with that?_ She pondered with an enjoyable smile. One of the co-workers looked towards the television which played the news and let out a grumble. "Anyone catch the new statements the government was releasing regarding the terrorist activities?"

"The one where the government vowed to do something?" asked another co-worker and received confirmation. "Yeah, this time they apparently promised to try harder in getting the anti-terrorists legislations pushed through."

"Hah hah hah! Give me a break, legislative talk should be a thing of the past now. This crap has been going on for long enough! When the government stops being pussies and does something of value, let me know."

"That is true, they have been saying things like this for years," said another co-worker as she placed down her drink and ran her finger along the top of the glass. "Now is the time for firm action. But then again, I suppose we are partially to blame for this situation as well."

"What do you mean?" an intrigued Carolina questioned. "How can you, part of the general population be at fault for this?"

"In recent years, the government had held an election to determine the outcome of certain privacy intrusive legislations. Loving our privacy as we do, we voted against the regulations that allowed some public wide and private surveillance. What this meant was that the government now has less eyes on the ground than before and the terrorists can move around more freely."

"Maybe we are to blame, but the government is equally at fault," one of their co-workers slammed their mug on the table already drunk. "As long as they keep on bending to the whims of the protestors so easily, they will never have control of the power they possess!"

 _That is true_. Carolina finished her drink and felt her senses beginning to dull. _I am already starting to get drunk? That right there is a terrifying difference between canned beer and bar beer. This is such an overwhelming feeling_. She called for the waiter and asked for the bill, and so did the rest figuring it be best they get home to sleep this off. They soon left the bar and split off into various smaller groups. They all headed in the general direction of their homes.

* * *

Carolina looked at the group of three men behind her, one of whom was Madison. He still seemed to have a balanced head about him. He was however surprised by Carolina's next suggestion, but at the same time very cautious. "How about we take Mayfair Street on the way home?"

"What's wrong with the normal route?" Madison quickly asked as if to try and put a nail on the suggestion. Carolina let out a goofy smile. "You know, it's a scenic route so I thought it may be fun."

"She has a point boss," one of the young men leaned on the other for support. "Plus, we aren't exactly in a hurry now are we?"

Madison didn't like this one bit. But reluctantly he agreed to not create too much of a commotion. They walked a few blocks and finally entered Mayfair Street. She walked towards a familiar Café name. _This is it, the café that assassin suggested_. She stopped in her tracks halting the others behind her. _So something is supposed to happen here. What will it be assassin?_

"Is something wrong?" Madison leaned in close to a dazed out Carolina. She was shaken out of her deep thoughts and looked at the worried faces behind her. "Sorry, I was just lost deep in thought is all. Nothing is wr-"

Her eyes widened. Madison followed her gaze and his mouth dropped open at the vehicle nearing them. The others looked from their two co-workers to the truck questionably. It was a supply truck! Madison moved quickly for the two in front of him and shouted to those behind him. "Get down!"

"What's wrong boss?" one of the men asked in a panic as he was shoved to the ground. The truck drove past them, and nearing an intersection just a few steps away it exploded into many pieces. The supplies all burned away, and the cries of many panicking individuals blurred out the line between chaos and order. Carolina began to feel her head weigh heavy and her mind slowly lose consciousness…

* * *

The dampened noises slowly stirred her consciousness awake. Her vision blurred with the orange tinted outlines of flames rising into the sky. The rampaging cries and footsteps of the panicked world around her echoed and burned deep into her mind. Her vision began to clear, and she saw the true reality as it was before her eyes. Madison and her co-workers worked hard on stopping the bleeding of their injured co-worker. He was impaled in the leg by a flying piece of truck's metal. His body acted as a shield for the others in the group much to her horror, but at the same time some relief.

Madison looked back to see Carolina stirred awake and motioned for her to hurry closer. Her eyes widened at the amount of blood their co-worker lost and the gaping slit in his leg. With every ounce of strength that they used in an attempt to stop the blood, more kept on escaping. The crimson red pooled beneath his body leaving him feeling numbed and weakened. Carolina's breathing became heavier as she slowly picked herself up. She looked to see the site of the explosion. The truck was in pieces and in flames. There was no way the driver survived, and beside the truck were several casualties.

Her mouth dropped open at the bloody sight of a few mangled corpses. Dismembered limbs lay bare and still on the ground like an exhibition of shock. She could see many injured trying to drag themselves away from the scene. Even those who had lost a limb to the powerful blast persevered. In the distance, the blurred sirens wailed inching closer by the second. Help was on its way, but help was too late. Carolina could feel her whole body tremble from the impact left on her body. Even behind her co-workers, she could feel the brunt of the explosion. She could only wonder what it would have been like for Madison who protected her with his quick thinking and awareness.

With concise instructions from Madison, Carolina held down the open wound and applied pressure. The co-worker shouted in excruciating pain as he let out every last cuss word he could think of. Madison moved her to the side and ripped pieces of his shirt off to create makeshift bandages. Typing them tightly around the wound he sat back down now praying for the best.

In front of them, Carolina noticed a body move. It was the body of a woman. Beneath that woman, was a small child boy crawling out to the traumatic sight. He sat up and began to shake the woman. "Mommy?"

Carolina's mouth began to tremble at the still sight of the body, and the boy who tried so desperately hard to get a response from his mother. The boy panicked as after a few attempts she wouldn't respond. "Mommy, wake up please!"

His eyes began to water with worry, and his once worried voice began to crack in fear. Carolina pulled herself up even though her legs trembled violently. She walked over to the two to see the boy continue to shake her. The child let out a loud cry. Carolina bent down beside the mother to check her pulse. She immediately retrieved her hand. The mother was dead. Carolina looked at the young boy who looked up at her with eyes of desperation, his spirit felt broken and so did his mind with his mother death forever engraved in his mind. Carolina reached out for the boy and took him into her arms. She smothered his rough hair and repeated that it will be alright. But everyone knew, nothing will be the same again and nothing will be alright. It was one big lie.

Carolina felt pity for the boy, but also the immense sadness of losing a mother. She continued to try and lull the boy's cries as she herself began to tear up. The ambulances and fire trucks finally arrived on the scene giving a sliver of hope to those still alive. The police soon followed after in barricading the scene and getting everyone to safety.

Carolina sat in midst of this newly controlled chaos with the child still in her arms, and his arms tightly wrapped around her. Her maternal instincts took over and she rested her cheek atop his head, warmly speaking to him while keeping herself from falling apart. But even her spirit could only take so much, as soon a single tear escaped her eye. Her mind was on the brink of shattering at the reality it perceived. The peace she knew was nothing more than an empty shell now became clearer than ever before. This trembling fear engraved this picture deep into her mind to haunt her with. She too slowly felt herself losing grip on her sanity.

* * *

 **A/N: Things were going a little too well lately weren't they? Oh well, good things don't always last. I hope you enjoyed that chapter, what did you think about it?**

 **Also, musical suggestion starting from the second last break line (after Carolina loses consciousness): "Mountains" by Message To Bears. Listen to it while imagining the words play out like a film scene or something. It might end up having a greater impact on you as the reader as well. :)**

 **Hopefully you all look forward to the next chapter and the rest of the trilogy following this event.**

 **Catch you all next time!**

 **~ Monty**


	18. I Will Hunt You Down

**Chapter 17: I Will Hunt You Down**

The day after the incident, nothing seemed the same ever again for those involved. Carolina still showed up to work as did the rest of her uninjured co-workers. But they all still felt the trembling horrors of yesterday coursing through their veins. These horrors rooted deep into their memories forever traumatizing them. Madison however seemed to be the one with the coolest head in the group. He did his best to keep the workers together. There was no arguing that a cloud of gloom hanged over everyone's head. Rumours spread fast of the incident, causing for pity and sympathy from those who could only imagine the experience.

Carolina put down her shovel and silently gazed at the concrete mixture by her side. This became a common occurrence amongst many on the site. It was up to Madison to make sure and keep everyone in line. But he was only one man capable of doing only so much. He approached her from the behind and overshadowed her. Carolina looked back to find concern painted all over Madison's face. He sat her down by the rest area. "Are you thinking about what happened yesterday?"

"Who wouldn't be?"

"That's true," he answered with a small smirk in an attempt to lift up the atmosphere. "You know, what happened wasn't your fault nor anyone else's here. We were all just plagued with bad luck."

"Bad luck?" Carolina breathed those words under her heavy burden. Madison looked at her even more worried than before now. She gritted her teeth and closed shut her eyes. The scene kept on replaying itself like a film stuck on loop. "You can't write off all those deaths as bad luck! That child…that boy lost his mother. How can you just call it bad luck?!"

Madison lowered his head and gave her a moment to calm down. "I admit that was insensible of me. I'm sorry. I do feel sorry for that kid. I could never imagine my daughter living a life without a parent. But…we have to do all that we can within our power to move forward. I know this maybe something you don't want to hear right now, but all we can do now is move forward. You did everything you could for that boy. As a stranger helping a child, you can only do so much."

Carolina gripped the edge of her seat in anguish. He could see it painted clear as day on her face and gently patted her back. "Take the rest of the day off Carolina, you need the rest."

"But what about the others then?"

He simply smiled and helped her up. Guiding her towards the locker area he pushed her inside the women's locker room. "Leave that to me. You just worry about yourself right now."

Carolina lowered her head apologetically and nodded. "I'm sorry to cause you this trouble."

"Don't call it trouble," Madison firmly corrected her. "It's only natural and still proves that you are a compassionate person to feel such worries. As powerless as we are, we can do nothing but keep on striving to push forward. Living in the past won't help anyone I suppose, yeah it won't help anyone. Take the time to rest; because once you get back I am going to work you hard!"

"Got it boss," she replied with a smile. Madison gave her a thumb up. "Now there is a beautiful smile!"

* * *

She changed and left the site without trying to attract much attention. Carolina stopped in her tracks and looked in the general direction of the nearest hospital. _I suppose I will go pay him a visit_. She began to slowly and deep in thought made her way there. _If it were not for him and Madison, I probably wouldn't have escaped unscathed. All I can do is throw these words of apology and gratitude. I feel so damn powerless_. Carolina stopped by the nearest cards and boutique shop and picked out a get well soon card and flowers.

"Thank you and please come again!" the shop keeper said as she exited the shop with the flowers gently resting in her arm. She entered the hospital and inquired about her co-worker's room. Carolina briskly walked past the many patients up to the destined floor. She felt the anti-septic smell sting her nose. _I have always hated this smell of hospitals. Even after all this time I can never get used to it_. She knocked on the door of her co-worker's hospital room and quietly entered.

"Carolina!" the co-worker exclaimed surprised to see her presence. She did her best to smile, but everytime she saw his bandaged leg in a cast it would fade away. "Sorry for dropping by unannounced Jacob."

"It's alright," he rubbed the back of his head with a goofy smile. "I'm glad you came for a visit though."

She proceeded to change the flowers in his room and set up the get well soon card. "Jacob…I am sorry for getting you involved. Because of my whim from yesterday you are here lik-"

"Say no more!" he raised his voice and caused her to freeze. "I agreed to go along on that route with you and the others. It was my choice. Plus no one could have known what would happen. It was an adventure gone wrong. At the very least none of us lost their life there, although sadly I can't say the same for many others."

"Yes, sadly so," Carolina lowered her head as she sat beside his bed. But he put on a glowing smile. "The doctors say that a smile will help the patient recover faster. So the more smiles the merrier!"

"I bet," she giggled with a small smile. Jacob would have preferred to have gotten a full on smile service, but he would make do with what he could get from her. She and Jacob spent some time conversing back and forth until the nurse came by to do the daily checkup. Carolina opted to leave at this point and turned back when her name was called out. "Thanks for visiting Carolina. It means a lot to see a friend visit me here, it gives me some support and strength to get outta here faster!"

"I'm glad to hear that," Carolina replied as she opened the door and exited the room. The smile on her lips faded into a guilt ridden face. _I'm sorry Jacob, I knew what would happen. I'm sorry everyone. I knew there would be danger involved and yet I still chose to involve you all in my selfish whims_. Carolina exited the hospital and went home. She had no desire or any motivation to do anything else for the day. She felt like a dry well of any real joy.

* * *

Carolina locked the door to her apartment behind her. She removed her shoes and threw her bag on the sofa. The first thing she did was go to the fridge and pull out a can of beer. She opened the glass door to the balcony and rested her elbows on the edge. Carolina cracked open the can and drank one-third of it in one go. Epsilon looked at her while studying the data from yesterday. "Don't drink too much."

Worry was evident in his voice. _I sure have made a lot of people worried ever since I came here_. Carolina took another sip and sat down to stare up at the clouds. Epsilon shut his work windows and bent down to stare at Carolina. "Hey, did you hear me?"

"I did," she replied in an empty daze. "But I just don't care anymore. All I want is to get hammered and forget what happened. I just want to go into a deep slumber and to perhaps never wake up again."

"So you want to run away?" Church inquired rather disappointed in Carolina. He knew it took much more than this to break her. Perhaps being on Earth has indeed made her soft. Carolina remained quiet and stared at the various shaped clouds.

One was shaped like a fish. It reminded her of how simple of a life fishes lived. They swim in the wide ocean, blue like the sky, and go in an endless direction until they fulfill their lives. They live without a grand purpose, but one to help Earth function. It was a simple, but from the standpoint of a more complex being, a content life. Live. Carry out the purpose of your existence. Die. Fishes have never had any need for pride, ego, anger, hatred, sadness, or any other emotions humans carry as both a blessing and a curse.

"Maybe I do want to run away," she whispered lying down on the cold concrete floor onto her side. Epsilon shook his head and crossed his arms. "That would go against your vow to change and become stronger, don't you think?"

Carolina finished her can of beer and rested the cool can on her forehead. She closed her eyes and let out an annoyed moan. "Leave me alone. I don't want to do much thinking right now."

* * *

Later that night, Carolina awakened to the noises of her special UNSC radio communicator. After identifying herself, the CO from headquarters informed her of a very vital piece of information they just learned. "We got a tip that the individual you reported, the assassin, is going to appear at the rooftop of the building of your last target. We need you to go and investigate this Agent."

In her rather selfish behavior, she shut the radio off and rested her head in her arms. Epsilon appeared on the graphics module and peeked into her bedroom. "What are you going to do? If you go now, then you can still get some answers. Staying here will change nothing."

"I know that."

"Then take action already!"

"I know that!" Carolina burst out into a fury of anger. She caught her breath leaving a stunned Church to fear her wrath. She suited up and exited her apartment to the specified location. From a distance she could see a silhouette on the rooftop. It was a man. He matched the specifications for the assassin she described before. The man had already picked up on her presence from a set of motion sensors around the various buildings. He motioned for her to come closer. Carolina complied begrudgingly as she landed with her gun drawn. "You have some explaining to do!"

"No need to get all worked up Ms. UNSC."

"Tell me all that you know about these terrorist bombings!"

"Ah, so I presume you witnessed the terrorist attack yesterday?" He asked earning a confirmation. She then gritted her teeth at once again remembering the scene against her will. "Just what the hell did you want me to learn from that?!"

"If I had to say," the assassin looked up at the starry night sky. Under his hood was a smirk. _Does he enjoy these sick games?!_ Carolina pondered. But the assassin continued. "I would say that I wanted for you to learn the truth behind reality. The one painted in the media and the one that is observable are two different things. On the surface the media, led by the government will paint a beautiful, peaceful and sometimes an ideal reality. But in truth it is blazing with hatred from so many sides of this world. Society here is slowly breaking apart from the terrorism."

"You could have just told me that," she tightened her grip on the gun. "You sick bastard! Because of you I can't even sleep without having that scene play in my head like a nightmare. I see that scene everytime I am awake, and I remember those cries for help."

"Then I have done what I aimed to do," the assassin locked his hands behind his head in an aloof manner. "To experience reality first hand is the best method of education for it. The reason I picked you for it was because you are obviously strong, but you also seem like the capable type."

"Capable, me?"

"Yes," the assassin looked at the streets below with an ever growing determination. "You want to stop this terrorism, don't you? You want to help improve the lives of others. That makes you a capable person in my eyes."

Carolina raised the gun towards the man's head. "Just what is your affiliation? Do you belong to the terrorist group or some other faction? Just who are you?!"

"Seek answers to those mouthful questions yourself for now," the assassin turned towards her and placed his hands in his pockets. Carolina became more alert. But the assassin was not deterred even after staring down the gun barrel. "With time, things will be made clear. That time though maybe sooner than you think."

He took out his hand and motioned to throw something. But Carolina could see nothing, neither could Church. He turned around to leave, but before jumping off he smirked back her way. "I expect to see a lot more of you from now on seeing as how we always seem to have similar targets one way or another."

Carolina wasn't too keen on letting him get away so easily though. Just as she was about to fire her gun, she was taken off guard by the smoke grenade thrown near her feet. _Shit, not again!_ Carolina rushed out of the smoke screen to an empty rooftop. The assassin was long gone. _Just who are you?_ She again wondered putting her gun away in frustration. Carolina did her best to weed out the seeds of anger from growing any further in her. _Can you be trusted, or are you really an enemy disguised as a potential ally?_

Carolina looked up at the stars and sat down. _Will I have to hunt you down to get these answers? Will you even help me against the terrorists if you are an ally or will you choose to indulge in your sick plays like you did with me?_ She punched the concrete for being so clueless. _I have more questions than I do answers. What did I get myself involved in? Just…who are you?_

* * *

 **A/N: Yet another heavy chapter (at least I think it is :P), not only to show the after effects on Carolina but move the story forward. With this we are nearing the end of this season soon to help set up the stage for the main story-line to take place.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed that. Feedback is always appreciated. Thank you for your time and readership!**

 **Catch you all next time!**

 **~ Monty**


	19. Family United Again

**Chapter 18: Family United Again**

It was dark. Carolina couldn't feel anything. She was a detached consciousness, a hollow existence like a ghost. _What am I doing here?_ She looked around with a calm mind. She saw a spotlight in the distance and with a slight push from an unexpected gust she was blown towards it. _Where am I?_ She asked of herself as she neared the spotlight. Within the yellow circle was a woman on the ground. _Who is that?_

From underneath the woman came out a small boy, Carolina let out a surprised gasp. _This boy!_ She tried to cross over to inside of the spotlight, but her efforts were hindered by an invisible barrier. _Don't do anything, you will only regret it!_ She tried to shout, but her consciousness could only act as an observer condemned to this torment. The boy shook the woman and with a worried voice he leaned in closer. "Mommy?"

 _Stop it, don't talk anymore!_ Carolina once again felt the heartache she experienced at the scene of the bombing. The boy under a deluded pretense continued to shake her. "Wake up! Please wake up!"

 _Just stop!_

"Don't go anywhere mom!"

Carolina remained still with the memory synapses of her mind now knocking so fondly on her front door. _Don't go anywhere mom…mom…_ , and Carolina willingly opened the door for the flood to enter. Within the mystic blue water that carried her away with the current she saw her younger self, only of age twelve. It was early morning. She was awakened by the noises of moving feet in the hallway. She sat up with drowsy eyes. Her blurred vision slowly cleared upon growing curiosity. She opened the door a crack and saw both her parents in the living room. Her mother was in her basic gear, and her military bag rested on the table.

Both Leonard and Allison sat across from one another hand in hand. Worry was painted over her father's face. Allison took notice off the light footsteps coming their way and smiled at their cute daughter. "Did we wake you? I'm sorry."

"What's going on mom?" Carolina asked with a yawn. Leonard did his best to keep composure but could not face his daughter like this. He instead went into his workshop to retrieve a video camera. Allison looked at him with great concern.

"Mom?"

"I'm sorry honey," she bent down and patted her head. "Mom was just worried about dad."

"Did something happen?" she pointed to the heavy bag on the table. "Where are you going?"

Allison smiled at Carolina's smart perceptiveness and rubbed her hair playfully. "Mom has to go for now."

"Is it to fight in the war?"

"Yes," she answered with a gentle tone. "They called for me, and so I have to go."

"But will you be okay?"

"What are you talking about? This is your mom we are talking about!" she answered trying to show off her muscles. "I won't let a war like this keep me from coming back to my family."

"I will be lonely," the young Carolina pouted with her head low. Allison took her into a hug and kissed her hair. "I know, but make sure to get along with your father. I know he will be lonely to. So together you can help keep one another keep busy until I come back."

"But dad spends most of his time in his workshop," Carolina replied with her arms crossed and yet another pout. Allison let out a hearty laughter and agreed with her daughter. "But that's only because your father wants to make great discoveries to help others. He wants to do his part in this war to help lessen the casualties."

"I know," Carolina conceded as she gripped Allison's jacket. "But it would be nice if he spent a little more time out of the workshop with me."

"I will be sure to tell him that then," Allison said with the wink. But they both knew what the mother meant by _telling_ it to him. They both let out a giggle and Allison rested her forehead against Carolina's. "Mom will miss you while she is gone."

She stood up and walked at her daughter's pace to the front door where Leonard was all ready. Allison bent down to hand a small handmade bracelet to her precious daughter. "Think of this as a charm."

Carolina happily took it and tried it on. She graced her parents with a most thankful smile bringing joy to them both. Allison then hugged the young one with slight anxiety in her voice. But she remained calm for her family's sake. "Remember, I am not saying goodbye. If I don't say goodbye, then I am just not here right now. We will see one another again sweetheart."

As they parted, the young Carolina could feel uncertainty grow in her mind. As she watched her mother and father get into the car, she chased after them. The car drove off leaving her to only echo her distress. "Don't go anywhere mom!"

The car was long gone. That was the last she ever saw of her mother, ever since then she became a memory to so fondly remember in her times of need. _Don't go anywhere…_ , the disembodied Carolina again pondered.

* * *

She could feel her heart weigh heavy. Her eyes shot wide open only to stare in frenzy up at the ceiling. She breathed inwards heavily with cold sweat breaking out on her face. Her chest felt crushingly heavy and weighed her whole body down. She gripped it tightly until it finally calmed down. The commotion was enough to bring Epsilon out of his slumber and worriedly study Carolina's condition.

 _Elevated heart beat, and brain waves that indicate emotions of panic, did she have a nightmare?_ He inquired of himself. Based on the numbers in the data, that was the only explanation. He made his presence clear towards her as he increased energy output from the display device. "Are you alright?"

"I…I am fine," Carolina threw her bed sheets to the side and sat up straight. _I think. But why did I have to remember that memory of all things? I…I need to get a handle on things. I think I am slowly beginning to slip_. Epsilon was not blind to this internal struggle. He shook his head and clapped his hands getting her attention once again. "You know, the things that have happened in the past where you had little to no control are not your fault."

"You looked inside my mind again, didn't you?" she asked clearly aggravated by this behavior. Epsilon held up his hands in defense. "I only did it because you are so hard to get answers from. I only want to help you sis!"

"That still doesn't give you the right to go ahead and invade my memories like that Church," she gritted her teeth and tightly gripped the edge of her bed. Her cold sweat was beginning to clear and her panic disappeared into the wide ocean of disapproval. He again apologized only to be ignored. She stood up to stretch her back and do some morning exercises. Epsilon however did not want to give up just yet on getting through to her. "You were just there to get answers. You know that explosion wasn't your fault. If anything, those terrorist scumbags are to blame for this!"

For the rest of the morning ritual, she had ignored his words as she was lost deep within thought. _Losing family as well as gaining family, I know the feeling of both. Everytime I think about everyone at Blood Gulch, I worry about losing them at times like these. Just why did I remember that dreadful, but at the same time blissful moment from the past? Is my guilt for being weak that strong? No matter how strong I believe I have become, it never seems to be enough to protect others. There is always a stronger threat out there in the universe_. Carolina bit into her morning toast and took a sip of her coffee. She finished the rest of her breakfast in deep contemplation and got ready for work.

* * *

Carolina exited the apartment and noticed the bare trees. _Snow might finally fall_. She began her walk towards the workplace only to have her thoughts interrupted at the worried questions Epsilon had for her. _Are you sure you are alright, should you really be going?_

"I'm fine Church," she smiled and thanked him for his concern. "I just have a few thoughts I need to work out is all."

 _Just remember, you don't have to do this on your own_. Epsilon spoke with increased determination. He was willing to always help her in any way he could, after all she was his precious sister and family. _We are a team, we do this together_. Carolina nodded her head. "Yes, you are right. Sorry for my earlier behavior by the way. It was uncalled for and it was wrong of me to raise my voice at you like that."

 _I am sorry to_. Church went quiet for a moment to consider his next few words. Even though his lack of understanding in human emotions was still evident, he wanted to try harder and reverse this. He wanted to connect with Carolina on a deeper level. _Try to make the most out of the time you have in your life sis. I know I will be trying my damn hardest to better understand people. Would have been nice if the previous me left me with some useful data. Can't believe he pulled such a dick move_.

Carolina giggled bringing some relief to Church. _A lot has recently happened. I can sort of understand how you may feel. But like I said before, you are not the one responsible. So just do your best to relax and tackle things with a cool mind. Plus it's not so bad to just go with the flow once in a while and take it easy_.

* * *

Carolina finally reached her worksite, but before taking a step further she took notice of several stray wires on the ground. Epsilon found this to be most suspicious and instructed her to follow the direction of the wires. Carolina eyed one specifically and looked in the direction it led her to. There were several barrels set up in the construction site. _What's going on here?_ Church wondered as he asked for her to get near the barrels. But she stopped upon noticing Madison below the building's structure.

 _Something is amiss_. She looked around and found more barrels. She inched closer to Madison who noticed her presence. "Don't come any closer!"

In his left hand was a trigger like device. _Is that a detonator of some sort?_ Carolina remained still maintaining a fair bit of distance between them. "What is going on here Madison?"

"Deserving punishment Carolina," he sighed. "That is what is going on here."

"I don't un-"

"Understand?" Madison looked her way with a familiar smile. But this time behind that smile were the eyes of a dangerous man. "The government cowers in their little holes. I figured I should give them something else to cower about as well."

 _Be careful Carolina_ , Epsilon warned as he saw that the fatherly personality was nowhere to be seen. _I don't know what's happening to him, but the Madison we see right now is not in his right state of mind. Something seems off about him_.

Madison pressed one button on the device in his hand. Several of the barrels began to beep. _They are explosives!_ Carolina suddenly started to look for flanking routes to disarm Madison from. They were in an open area. There was nothing she could use to her advantage. There were no tools for make shift weapons either. _Dammit, think, what can I do?!_ She racked her brain against an empty wall. Madison looked from the detonator to Carolina and waved it in the air. "If you are thinking about getting this, forget it. I will detonate it before you can get it from me and kill us both if I have to."

"Calm down Madison," she asked holding out a hand from afar. "Just put down the detonator so we can talk this out."

"There is no more time left for talk," he rebutted looking back up the structure they all worked so hard to build over the past few months. "It's a shame I will have to destroy it. But the government needs to hear this message loud and clear."

"What message? What are you talking about Madison, this isn't you!"

"We all have a role to play in this cruel world Carolina," he looked back with longing eyes. But those same eyes were filled with hate as well. "My role is something I figured out two years ago. My role is to be the messenger to the government. I will help set humanity on the correct path and go meet my family."

"But how can you meet your family if you are dead?!" she argued taking a small step forward. Madison held up his thumb against the trigger prompting Carolina to back off. "Death will let me see my family again."

"What?"

"My family," he bit his lower lip as he felt his body quiver from the memories. "They are dead. Death will be the final release to let me go see them. I will finally meet them after two long years."

"No, please," Carolina took a firm stance and begged. "Please reconsider what you are doing!"

"There is nothing to reconsider," Madison looked at the detonator in his hand with a smile. "There is nothing left but death. If that death can also serve a greater purpose, then I will gladly offer it."

"Why are you so determined to do this?!"

"What a meaningless question in a situation such as this," he smirked but something inside of him prompted to answer. "Seeing as how no one else knows this, I may as well pass this knowledge onto you in the hopes that someday you see why I did what I did. Maybe you may even begin to understand how ugly reality is and take steps to better it. Humans are a plague that need to be contained and brought back to Earth. As for the why, I do this for release from my torment and the pain of losing my loving wife and daughter. They died in a space shuttle accident. Their shuttle had come under a mini-asteroid shower and one had managed to break through the shuttle window. It depressurized the whole shuttle killing everyone inside."

Madison stopped to grip his hand against his thigh. "The fucking government, they did nothing to mount a rescue mission. They just let the space shuttle float away like it was some piece of junk. They didn't even have the decency to retrieve the victims for a proper burial. All the officials did was offer payments in damage and half-hearted apologies through their crooked corrupt teeth. They only apologized because it was their duty. They never did so out of personal obligation, those bastards."

Madison looked up towards Carolina with a broken and pathetic smile. His eyes were on the verge of tearing up. "Those assholes can still smile about things, but my wife and daughter will never have that chance again. The corrupt get away but the innocent aren't even remembered. They will offer up all the apologies they can to this day, but they will never come back to me again. The dead don't come back to life. My life is an empty shell that is begging for release."

"I'm sorry that such tragic things have happened to you. I can understand the loss of family," she sympathized but at the same time maintained a cool head to reason with. "But think about how what you are doing here will affect others. What about Jacob? How will he feel once he gets out of the hospital? What about our other co-workers?"

"I do feel sorry that they will be out of a job probably," he smirked upon remembering the good memories he created with them all. "But there are greater things at stake. Humanity has strayed far too much into outer space and become a rampant parasite. They will suck any planet they inhibit dry and then move onto the next one. They need to be brought back to the cradle and re-educated through being caged. This is a mission greater than my life and your lives. It is a mission that no one can stop me from completing."

He raised the detonator up in the air making a clear declaration of his intentions to follow. "What I do here will make me seem nothing more than a terrorist. It's a shame you had to get involved in this. I'm sorry. But the things I said about my daughter and wife were all true. I think that if you met my daughter, then you two would have been the best of friends."

He placed his thumb on the detonator and once again smiled genuinely for her. He thought it be best to leave her with the image she most likely upheld in her mind. "By the way, sorry Greenhorn, but I wasn't able to sneak out any cake."

 _Click!_

"No!" Carolina was blasted backwards from the sudden explosive force. The barrels and various charges on the site all exploded synchronously. The structure's beams began to break apart and the whole building crumbled in on itself crushing Madison underneath it. Around the city, many other construction sites met the same fate. Panic grew in the streets. Shouts of terrorism were thrown around wildly. Law and order no longer seemed existent. Now these were the streets only for the brave and the bold. No person with a faint heart could hope to survive out in this chaos.

 _Madison…_ , Carolina pondered with sadness. Her consciousness began to slip and the darkness around her eyes closed in till there was nothing. Her mind went blank and her body went limp. Church's cries to remain awake went unheard and her world went silent.

* * *

 **A/N: Writing about Carolina's last moments with her mother was rather interesting. While not necessarily anything mind blowing, I hope it did leave with some emotional impact considering the things Allison's legacy went through after her death. I also wanted to paint a more positive picture for Leonard Church to give a contrasting picture to what he became after his wife's death.**

 **But onto the more major event in this chapter, Madison turned out to be a terrorist. Who would have thought it right? Just another thing in Carolina's life to question and with time overcome I suppose considering how strong of a friendship she had formed with him. I hope that was a rather unexpected twist, although I did drop some very minor hints here and there in the "Gift Hunting" chapter :).**

 **Next chapter will be the final chapter for this fanfic. After that it will continue onto a more action oriented entry in the final two fanfics in this trilogy.**

 **Catch you all next time!**

 **~ Monty**


	20. Complex Beings

**Chapter 19: Complex Beings**

The loud noises all around her extended a hand deep into her consciousness. It gripped her very life and began to pull it out from her silent world to the reality around her. Her eyes slowly opened, but with a sudden jolt of panic she sat up to study her surroundings. She was in an ambulance. A mask providing fresh oxygen was placed over her mouth. Carolina took full advantage of the fresh clean air to help soothe her mind.

In the distance she could see the wreckage of the construction site. _That's right_ , she suddenly remembered everything. Madison's body was nowhere to be seen. She gripped her blanket in frustration. _If only you would have stopped, if only you would have been willing to give life a second chance_.

 _Thank god you are finally awake!_ Epsilon shouted with relief in her consciousness. Carolina simply smiled and apologized for making him worry. _Damn right I was worried! Seriously, I don't want to even think about losing you sis_. Carolina removed the mask and looked down at her hands apologetically. "Sorry Church. I guess the situation got the better of me. I really wanted to-"

 _I know. But nothing you said could have saved him. He was already head deep in his pit of despair. No words of reason, logic or hope could reach him_. Carolina felt the sting of defeat and more so loss of a friend course though her body. Outside were several police car, fire trucks and ambulances on the scene all created a symphony of noise. Her world seemed so loud, and yet so numb. "Have I really changed on this journey? I can't even save one friend."

 _You have changed!_ Epsilon interjected surprising her once again. _Just because you couldn't save Madison, it doesn't mean you haven't changed. You have gained clearer insight into yourself through this journey. You have grown stronger as an individual and thus you have changed_. She threw the blanket to the side and slid forward to the edge of the ambulance. "Thanks, Church."

A man entered her field of vision. Said man held up a detective's badge affiliated with the police. "I see you are up and active again Carolina Church."

Carolina's felt somewhat irritated at her last name being muttered. He held up her purse and threw it at her lap. "Sorry, but I had a peek through its contents."

Carolina defensively took it and made sure everything was in its proper place. The detective let out a sigh with the shrug of his shoulders and explained. "I didn't take anything if that is what you are searching for. The situation calls for me to take these types of steps even without the owner's consent."

She quietly put away her wallet and looked up at the detective with an understanding look. He thanked her for showing signs of trust. "I know this is sudden but do you think you can answer a few questions for us?"

"Yes," she agreed and he pointed to his car. "It's best if we conduct our interview back at the station. Too much noise around here will be bad for concentration."

* * *

At the police station, upon Carolina's request she was given time to lie down and rest in a private area of the office. In her rest she had dozed off slightly only to awaken to the grey clouds of the mid-day. She heard knocks from the door to the room and saw the detective enter. He held a box of Chinese noodles and offered it to her.

Upon smelling the delicious aroma, her stomach let out a demanding growl much to the detective's amusement. She felt her cheeks light up a little in embarrassment as she thanked him for his treat and quietly ate under his watchful gaze. "I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Detective Thomas Edgar. Call me Tom for short, everyone else does."

Carolina quickly finished the noodles and with a satiated hunger she looked up at the detective. "Thank you again for your kind consideration. But I know you are looking forward to our session together. If you are ready, I would like to get started right now."

"Are you sure?" he asked and pointed out the door. "We will be switching rooms."

She stood up fine answering his question for itself. The detective gave a playful smirk as he led the way to the interrogation room. She sat on one side and him on the other. But quickly he stood up and reached for the door. "Give me a few minutes here. I need to grab a cup of coffee. I am always on the verge of falling asleep without my trusty coffee. Would you like some as well?"

"Sure, yes please."

Minutes later he re-entered the room with two freshly brewed cups of coffee. He placed one by her hand and took a sip from his with a satisfied groan escaping his mouth. "Nothing like a fresh hot cup of coffee on a cool day like today."

"So, what questions did you want me to answer Detective Tom?"

He activated a holographic panel and showed her a few reports. But the one he focused on the most was a detailed profile about Madison. "I want for us to focus primarily on Madison here. All other questions are really secondary at this point. Take a look through the report and let me know if you find any discrepancies."

Carolina browsed the various sections, but spent the most time on the accrued history of his life. She was shocked to find truth in his words involving his family's incident. _This is insane, how could the government even get away with doing something like that?_ She continued to read and the more she read, the more shocked she felt. "Detective…why is it that the government never mounted a rescue mission for the incident in space involving Madison's family?"

"Ah that," he lowered his gaze in a sign of respect for the dead. "As sick as this may sound, the government never saw it fit to assume responsibility. They never believed that they were at fault. They weren't held accountable either, even after all those court cases the government came out the victor."

"Then who would be blamed here?"

"Officially, it is stated that the company contracted to produce the various sensors in that region of space. Those sensors help protect that region of space for public shuttles. They were held accountable. It was their responsibility to protect the people by ensuring their devices actually worked, but as the report suggests, the outcome was different."

"That is just…sickening considering how advanced we have gotten. But we still play in the dirt pond of politics every day."

Tom took control of the report and scrolled down to a specific part. He pointed at the psychiatric report and asked. "Did you ever notice anything strange about Madison, like the way he acted around others perhaps, for example, was he suspicious at all?"

She shook her head. "No, never. He always seemed like a kind, caring, gentle father and a family man to me. At the same time, he was also a good friend."

"He must have had quite a lot of time to perfect such an image then," the detective retorted as he pointed out to the various instabilities in Madison's mentality. "He even managed to keep something as big as his alliance to the mysterious terrorist organization a secret. Most people would crumble under the pressure and squeal, but he must have had some damn good acting skills."

"Acting or not, he seemed so genuine," she remised before being interrupted by the Detective. "I know this isn't easy for you Ms. Church. But how much did you know about Madison's family?"

"All he ever told me was that he had a daughter, who resembled me quite a lot in personality. His wife seemed to be very loving and dedicated towards fostering their family as did he," Carolina stopped to remember the times Madison seemed so happy talking about them. "They all sounded so loving and caring."

"The ideal family, wouldn't you say?" Tom noted and Carolina nodded her head. He took another sip of his coffee and let out a sigh. "It really is a true tragedy on what happened. Madison himself didn't seem like the violent sort. From his profile before the incident, and the comparable profile from after the incident, he changed so much even though he masked it very well. To be driven to terrorism through a personal tragedy, while it's not exactly something new, it still is saddening."

"Yes, it is," Carolina lowered her head in grief remembering the very few times Madison would drop his smile and show a sense of longing. _He was always trying to tell us something even if he didn't say it. But we in our idealistic picture of him ignored such signals. Would this have happened if we had caught wind of this and done something to help him? This world is too cruel_. The detective opted to take a small breather and allow them both to recuperate.

Once they started again, it was soon dusk. The detective sat back in his chair and stretched his arms. "Sorry, I didn't plan on keeping you here this long. But once we got started, questions just kept on coming to me."

"It's alright," she admitted looking at her now empty cup. "I doubt anyone else from work had anything to do either. I may as well use that time up to help you guys as best as I can."

"Glad to hear it," he replied holding out a card for her. She took it and studied its content. He opened the door for her to follow as he led her out of the station. "Should you remember something or something comes up bearing importance in regards to this case, please don't hesitate to contact me directly on the phone number on that card."

* * *

She quietly followed behind him. Minutes later they both stood outside under the watchful gaze of the dark clouds. The detective looked up with the rub of his hair. "Looks like tonight will be an especially cold night."

"Yes…," Carolina gazed up as well. _Are you with your family now Madison?_ The detective turned around to walk back inside but he held the door open and said. "Be careful out there. More terrorist activities have been popping up lately, more so than usual."

"Thank you for your concern," she answered as she put on her gloves and zipped up her jacket. The detective waved back one last time before disappearing into the station. She looked all around at the street, it was mostly empty with everyone now having left work and gone home. The streets felt empty like her heart. Sadness was still ringing strongly in her heart. Those that were on the street however walked as they normally would. _People still go about their lives as if nothing happened this morning. How can these people be so calm, or rather choose to ignore the chaos that exists?_

 _Do you want to go on another mini-adventure to cheer up a little sis?_

"No," Carolina breathed out some cool air as a gust of wind hit her hair and caused it to dance into one direction. "I just want to get home and get hammered. I don't want to think about anything, I just want to be at peace."

 _You have been drinking an awful lot lately. Maybe you should consider finding a different outlet sis. This much drinking can't be good for you_.

"I have been drinking a lot, yes. But I can't care enough to change that, not with all that's been happening lately," Carolina gritted her teeth and balled her fists in a moment of silence. "Why are humans so fragile, but at the same time complex beings? Why are they so good at deceiving, so much so that even I failed to be perceptive of Madison's internal suffering? I hate us for being so weak. Church, why are humans so weak?"

 _Don't ask me, I don't understand half the stuff people do sometimes because of how irrational it is. I don't know why people are weak in times like these, and I don't know how such a blessed species could also be so cursed through such continuous conflicts. Perhaps it is simply human nature_.

* * *

A small snowflake fell atop her head. She slowly looked up and was greeted by the sight of her very first winter on Earth. Just like the grey clouds her mood remained sullen. She stretched out her hand and felt the light gentle weight of the falling snowflakes. She looked up again and her eyes widened at the building opposite to her.

On the rooftop were two silhouettes. They were looking down at her. They were staring at her in her eyes. Surprised she rubbed and blinked her eyes. Was this her illusion? No, it was real. But as soon as she opened her eyes, the figures were gone. They were nowhere to be seen, gone with the wind like ghosts. The snowfall began to get heavier and the chill settled on her skin. She zipped up her jacket all the way to the neck and let out some fog. She looked to her right and began to walk away with her head low in contemplations and questions.

Deep in thought, the most prominent thought that coursed through her mind was that to be thankful for the snow. She knew best how the land humans walked upon so desperately needed purification. She walked and walked into the distance, until finally she disappeared from the street.

~ Season 17 Fin ~ Continued in "Red vs. Blue: Season 18"

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 **A/N: Musical suggestion - "Emerald Dreams" by Koda. Start after the second last break line.**

 **So that's it. Season 17 is done. Not much of an action packed ending now was it? That's because I wanted to approach the beginning of this trilogy from a more everyday life/drama feel. I kept some action, albeit to a minimum in here to not completely change what red vs blue is about, but I wanted to take a more dramatic approach to the story as well. While there was too much drama or not, whether it was too boring or not is really for the reader to decide. Personally I am glad to have taken this approach.**

 **But for those wondering about if the rest of the trilogy will be like this. No, there will be a lot more action in "Season 18" and "Season 19". This season was more about giving Carolina reasons to become invested in a fight against the terrorist organization through her own personal experiences and encounters with them. But the ball can get rolling now with the next phase as the plot will deepen.**

 **For those who were thinking Siris will be in this fanfic, sorry if you were left disappointed. But I did say he would be in the trilogy. He will show up in the next entry alongside many other canon characters as well as original characters.**

 **It will be a while before I get to work on "Season 18" as I want to take a break to plan it out. If you are reading this when that fanfic has already been posted and completed, then ignore this.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this fanfic and perhaps got you interested in the new trilogy. I also hope you enjoyed a different approach to the start of the trilogy. Catch you all in my next fanfic!**

 **Thanks for your readership and support!**

 **~ Monty**


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